Measurement of neutron capture on 50Ti at thermonuclear energies

Abstract

At the Karlsruhe and Tuebingen 3.75 MV Van de Graaff accelerators the thermonuclear 50Ti(n,gamma)51Ti(5.8 min) cross section was measured by the fast cyclic activation technique via the 320.852 and 928.65 keV gamma-ray lines of the 51Ti-decay. Metallic Ti samples of natural isotopic composition and samples of TiO2 enriched in 50Ti by 67.53 % were irradiated between two gold foils which served as capture standards. The capture cross-section was measured at the neutron energies 25, 30, 52, and 145 keV, respectively. The direct capture cross section was determined to be 0.387 +/- 0.011 mbarn at 30 keV. We found evidence for a bound state s-wave resonance with an estimated radiative width of 0.34 eV which destructively interfers with direct capture. The strength of a suggested s-wave resonance at 146.8 keV was determined. The present data served to calculate, in addition to the directly measured Maxwellian averaged capture cross sections at 25 and 52 keV, an improved stellar 50Ti(n,gamma)51Ti rate in the thermonuclear energy region from 1 to 250 keV. The new stellar rate leads at low temperatures to much higher values than the previously recommended rate, e.g., at kT=8 keV the increase amounts to about 50 %. The new reaction rate therefore reduces the abundance of 50Ti due to s-processing in AGB stars.