D. TREZZI

The production of the stable isotope 6Li in standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis has recently attracted much interest. Recent observations in metal-poor stars suggest that a cosmological 6Li plateau may exist. If true, this plateau would come in addition to the well-known Spite plateau of 7Li abundances and would point to a predominantly...

When deriving resonance strengths using the thick-target yield approximation, for very narrow resonances it may be necessary to take beam energy straggling into account. This applies to gas targets of a few keV width, especially if there is some additional structure in target stoichiometry or detection efficiency. The correction for this effect...

We report on measurements of resonance strengths and energies for the Ep = 151 and 193 keV resonances in the 18O(p,gamma)15N and 17O(p,gamma)14N reactions, respectively, obtained during commissioning of a new setup for alpha-particle detection studies at the LUNA underground laboratory. Our values, omegagamma(151) = 164.2 ± 0.9 stat+12.1−11.7...

Classical novae are important contributors to the abundances of key isotopes, such as the radioactive 18F, whose observation by satellite missions could provide constraints on nucleosynthesis models in novae. The 17O(p,gamma)18F reaction plays a critical role in the synthesis of both oxygen and fluorine isotopes but its reaction rate is not...

Classical novae are important contributors to the abundances of key isotopes, such as the radioactive 18F, whose observation by satellite missions could provide constraints on nucleosynthesis models in novae. The 17Oðp; Þ18F reaction plays a critical role in the synthesis of both oxygen and fluorine isotopes, but its reaction rate is not well...

The 22Ne(p,gamma)23Na reaction takes part in the neon-sodium cycle of hydrogen burning. This cycle is active in asymptotic giant branch stars as well as in novae and contributes to the nucleosythesis of neon and sodium isotopes. In order to reduce the uncertainties in the predicted nucleosynthesis yields, new experimental efforts to measure the...

The direct measurement of reaction cross sections at astrophysical energies often requires the use of solid targets of known thickness, isotopic composition, and stoichiometry that are able to withstand high beam currents for extended periods of time. Here, we report on the production and characterisation of isotopically enriched Ta2O5 targets...

The 22Ne(p,γ)23Na reaction, part of the neon-sodium cycle of hydrogen burning, may explain the observed anticorrelation between sodium and oxygen abundances in globular cluster stars. Its rate is controlled by a number of low-energy resonances and a slowly varying nonresonant component. Three new resonances at Ep = 156.2, 189.5, and 259.7 keV...

Background: Shell hydrogen burning during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase through the oxygen isotopes has been indicated as a key process that is needed to understand the observed 18O/16O relative abundance in presolar grains and in stellar atmospheres. This ratio is strongly influenced by the relative strengths of the reactions...

The experimental study of nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest is greatly facilitated by a low-background, high-luminosity setup. The Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) 400 kV accelerator offers ultra-low cosmic-ray induced background due to its location deep underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory...

Direct measurements of small nuclear reaction cross sections require a low background in the signal region of interest to achieve the necessary sensitivity. We describe two complementary detector setups that have been used for studies of (p, gamma) reactions with solid targets at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA): a...

The observation of oxygen isotopes in giant stars sheds light on mixing processes operating in their interiors. Due to the very strong correlation between nuclear burning and mixing processes it is very important to reduce the uncertainty on the cross sections of the nuclear reactions that are involved. In this paper we focus our attention on...

Among the reactions involved in the production and destruction of deuterium duringBig Bang Nucleosynthesis, the deuterium-burningD(p,γ)3He reaction has the largest uncertainty and limits the precision of theoretical estimates of primordial deuterium abundance. Here we report the results of a careful commissioning of the experimental setup...

Light elements were produced in the first few minutes of the Universe through a sequence of nuclear reactions known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Among the light elements produced during BBN, deuterium is an excellent indicator of cosmological parameters because its abundance is highly sensitive to the primordial baryon density and also...

The NeNa and the MgAl cycles play a fundamental role in the nucleosynthesis of asymptotic giant branch stars undergoing hot bottom burning. The 23Na(p, γ)24Mgreaction links these two cycles and a precise determination of its rate is required to correctly estimate the contribution of these stars to the chemical evolution of various isotopes of...

Direct measurements of reaction cross-sections at astrophysical energies often require the use of solid targets able to withstand high ion beam currents for extended periods of time. Thus, monitoring target thickness, isotopic composition, and target stoichiometry during data taking is critical to account for possible target modifications and...