arXiv subjects

E. Somorjai

Publications and source records attributed to E. Somorjai.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Activation measurement of the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section at low energy

The nuclear physics input from the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section is a major uncertainty in the fluxes of 7Be and 8B neutrinos from the Sun predicted by solar models and in the 7Li abundance obtained in big-bang nucleosynthesis calculations. The present work reports on a new precision experiment using the activation technique at energies directly relevant to big-bang nucleosynthesis. Previously such low energies had been reached experimentally only by the prompt-gamma technique and with inferior precision. Using a windowless gas target, high beam intensity and low background gamma-counting facilities, the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section has been determined at 127, 148 and 169 keV center-of-mass energy with a total uncertainty of 4%. The sources of systematic uncertainty are discussed in detail. The present data can be used in big-bang nucleosynthesis calculations and to constrain the extrapolation of the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be astrophysical S-factor to solar energies.

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arXiv2006

Alpha-induced cross sections of 106Cd for the astrophysical p-process

The 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn reaction cross section has been measured in the energy range of the Gamow window for the astrophysical p-process scenario. The cross sections for 106Cd(alpha,n)109Sn and for 106Cd(alpha,p)109In below the (alpha,n) threshold have also been determined. The results are compared with predictions of the statistical model code NON-SMOKER using different input parameters. The comparison shows that a discrepancy for 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn when using the standard optical potentials can be removed with a different alpha+106Cd potential. Some astrophysical implications are discussed.

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arXiv2006

First measurement of the 14N(p,gamma)15O cross section down to 70 keV

In stars with temperatures above 20*10^6 K, hydrogen burning is dominated by the CNO cycle. Its rate is determined by the slowest process, the 14N(p,gamma)15O reaction. Deep underground in Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory, at the LUNA 400 kV accelerator, the cross section of this reaction has been measured at energies much lower than ever achieved before. Using a windowless gas target and a 4pi BGO summing detector, direct cross section data has been obtained down to 70 keV, reaching a value of 0.24 picobarn. The Gamow peak has been covered by experimental data for several scenarios of stable and explosive hydrogen burning. In addition, the strength of the 259 keV resonance has been remeasured. The thermonuclear reaction rate has been calculated for temperatures 90 - 300 *10^6 K, for the first time with negligible impact from extrapolations.

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arXiv2005

S-factor of 14N(p,gamma)15O at astrophysical energies

The astrophysical S-factor of 14N(p,gamma)15O has been measured for effective center-of-mass energies between E_eff = 119 and 367 keV at the LUNA facility using TiN solid targets and Ge detectors. The data are in good agreement with previous and recent work at overlapping energies. R-matrix analysis reveals that due to the complex level structure of 15O the extrapolated S(0) value is model dependent and calls for additional experimental efforts to reduce the present uncertainty in S(0) to a level of a few percent as required by astrophysical calculations.

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arXiv2005

Elastic alpha-scattering of 112Sn and 124Sn at astrophysically relevant energies

The cross sections for the elastic scattering reactions {112,124}Sn(a,a){112,124}Sn at energies above and below the Coulomb barrier are presented and compared to predictions for global alpha-nucleus potentials. The high precision of the new data allows a study of the global alpha-nucleus potentials at both the proton and neutron-rich sides of an isotopic chain. In addition, local alpha-nucleus potentials have been extracted for both nuclei, and used to reproduce elastic scattering data at higher energies. Predictions from the capture cross section of the reaction 112Sn(a,g)116Te at astrophysically relevant energies are presented and compared to experimental data.

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arXiv2005

Precise half-life measurement of 110Sn and 109In isotopes

The half-lives of 110Sn and 109In isotopes have been measured with high precision. The results are T1/2 =4.173 +- 0.023 h for 110Sn and T1/2 = 4.167 +-0.018 h for 109In. The precision of the half-lives has been increased by a factor of 5 with respect to the literature values which makes results of the recently measured 106Cd(alpha,gamma)110Sn and 106Cd(alpha,p)109In cross sections more reliable.

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arXiv2005

Feasibility of low energy radiative capture experiments at the LUNA underground accelerator facility

The LUNA (Laboratory Underground for Nuclear Astrophysics) facility has been designed to study nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. It is located deep underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Italy. Two electrostatic accelerators, with 50 and 400 kV maximum voltage, in combination with solid and gas target setups allowed to measure the total cross sections of the radiative capture reactions $^2$H(p,$γ$)3He and $^{14}$N(p,$γ$)$^{15}$O within their relevant Gamow peaks. We report on the gamma background in the Gran Sasso laboratory measured by germanium and bismuth germanate detectors, with and without an incident proton beam. A method to localize the sources of beam induced background using the Doppler shift of emitted gamma rays is presented. The feasibility of radiative capture studies at energies of astrophysical interest is discussed for several experimental scenarios.

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arXiv2004

The bottleneck of the CNO burning and the age of the Globular Clusters

The transition between the Main Sequence and the Red Giant Branch in low mass stars is powered by the onset of the CNO burning, whose bottleneck is the $^{14}$N(p,$γ)^{15}$O. The LUNA collaboration has recently improved the low energy measurements of the cross section of this key reaction. We analyse the impact of the revised reaction rate on the estimate of the Globular Clusters ages, as derived from the turnoff luminosity. We found that the age of the oldest Globulars should be increased by about 0.7-1 Gyr with respect to the current estimates.

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arXiv2004

Absolute resonance strengths in the 6,7Li(alpha,gamma)10,11B reactions

The absolute strengths of the Ea=1175keV resonance in the 6Li(a,g)10B reaction and of the Ea=814 keV resonance in the 7Li(a,g)11B reaction have been measured to $ωγ$=366+-38 meV and $ωγ$=300+-32 meV, respectively, in good agreement with previous values. These resonances can be used to measure the absolute acceptance of the recoil separator ERNA to a precision of about 10%.

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arXiv2003

Proton induced reaction cross section measurements on Se isotopes for the astrophysical p process

As a continuation of a systematic study of reactions relevant to the astrophysical p process, the cross sections of the 74,76Se(p,gamma)75,77Br and 82Se(p,n)82Br reactions have been measured at energies from 1.3 to 3.6 MeV using an activation technique. The results are compared to the predictions of Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations using the NON-SMOKER and MOST codes. The sensitivity of the calculations to variations in the optical proton potential and the nuclear level density was studied. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental reaction rates was found for the reactions 74Se(p,gamma)75Br and 82Se(p,n)82Br.

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arXiv2001

$^{92}$Mo($α,α$)$^{92}$Mo scattering,the $^{92}$Mo--$α$ optical potential, and the $^{96}$Ru($γ,α$)$^{92}$Mo reaction rate at astrophysically relevant energies

The elastic scattering cross section of$^{92}$Mo($α$,$α$)$^{92}$Mo has been measured at energies of $E_{\rm{c.m.}} \approx$ 13, 16, and 19 MeV in a wide angular range. The real and imaginary parts of the optical potential for the system $^{92}$Mo - $α$ have been derived at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier. The result fits into the systematic behavior of $α$-nucleus folding potentials. The astrophysically relevant $^{96}$Ru($γ$,$α$)$^{92}$Mo reaction rates at $T_9=2.0$ and $T_9=3.0$ could be determined to an accuracy of about 16 % and are compared to previously published theoretical rates.

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arXiv2001

Proton capture cross section of Sr isotopes and their importance for nucleosynthesis of proton-rich nuclides

The (p,$γ$) cross sections of three stable Sr isotopes have been measured in the astrophysically relevant energy range. These reactions are important for the $p$-process in stellar nucleosynthesis and, in addition, the reaction cross sections in the mass region up to 100 are also of importance concerning the $rp$-process associated with explosive hydrogen and helium burning. It is speculated that this $rp$-process could be responsible for a certain amount of $p$-nuclei in this mass region. The (p,$γ$) cross sections of $^{84,86,87}$Sr isotopes were determined using an activation technique. The measurements were carried out at the 5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator of the ATOMKI, Debrecen. The resulting cross sections are compared with the predictions of statistical model calculations. The predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results for $^{84}$Sr(p,$γ$)$^{85}$Y whereas the other two reactions exhibit differences that increase with mass number. The corresponding astrophysical reaction rates have also been computed.

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arXiv1998

Absolute measurement of the 5/2+ resonance of 36Ar(p,gamma)37K at E_p = 918 keV

The strength of the 5/2+ resonance of the reaction 36Ar(p,gamma)37K at E_p = 918 keV was measured absolutely: omega gamma = (258 \pm 24) meV. The new result is consistent with previous results. This resonance was used in several experiments as a calibration standard. Therefore we discuss our experimental uncertainties in detail which is important for the reliability of previous experiments and our new result.

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arXiv1996

The ^{144}Sm-αoptical potential at astrophysically relevant energies derived from ^{144}Sm(α,α)^{144}Sm elastic scattering

For the determination of the $^{144}Sm-α$ optical potential we measured the angular distribution of $^{144}Sm(α,α)^{144}Sm$ scattering at the energy $E_{lab} = 20 MeV$ with high accuracy. Using the known systematics of $α$-nucleus optical potentials we are able to derive the $^{144}Sm-α$ optical potential at the astrophysically relevant energy $E_{c.m.} = 9.5 MeV$ with very limited uncertainties.

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arXiv1994

Systematics of $α$--nucleus optical potentials

Double--folded optical $α$--nucleus potentials can be used to calculate elastic scattering cross sections in a wide mass-- and energy region. Because of the systematic behavior of the potential parameters we are able to obtain reliable optical potentials for astrophysically relevant reactions even without scattering data in low--energy region. As example we analyze the capture reaction ${^{144}{\rm Sm}}(α,γ){^{148}{\Gd}}$.

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