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Deep underground measurement of B 11 (α,n) N 14

Journal Article · · Physical Review. C
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [6];  [2];  [6];  [2]
  1. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. University of Notre Dame, IN (United States)
  3. University of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany)
  4. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  5. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States); Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, SD (United States)
  6. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The primordial elemental abundance composition of the first stars leads to questions about their modes of energy production and nucleosynthesis. The formation of 12C has been thought to occur primarily through the 3α process, however, alternative reaction chains may contribute significantly, such as 7Li (α, γ)11B (α,n)14N. This reaction sequence cannot only bypass the mass A = 8 stability gap, but could also be a source of neutrons in the first star environment. However, the efficiency of this reaction chain depends on the possible enhancement of its low energy cross section by α-cluster resonances near the reaction threshold. A new study of the reaction 11B(α,n) 14N has been undertaken at the CASPAR underground facility at beam energies from 300–700 keV. A 4π neutron detector in combination with pulse shape discrimination at low background conditions resulted in the ability to probe energies lower than previously measured. Further, resonance strengths were determined for both the resonance at a laboratory energy of 411 keV, which was measured for the second time, and for a new resonance at 337 keV that has been measured for the first time. This resonance, found to be significantly weaker than previous estimates, dominates the reaction rate at lower temperatures (T < 0.2 KG) and reduces the reaction rate in first star environments.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001; SC0020216
OSTI ID:
2204203
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--23-23180
Journal Information:
Physical Review. C, Journal Name: Physical Review. C Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 108; ISSN 2469-9985
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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