Recent Results in Nuclear Astrophysics at TUNL


Christian Iliadis
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory


Cutting edge research in nuclear astrophysics involves both improvements in traditional methods and entirely new techniques. Two examples for astrophysically important measurements involving TUNL facilities will be discussed in more detail. The 17O(p,g)18F reaction is important for classical novae. Recent direct cross section measurements at the Laboratory for Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics (LENA) have resolved a long-standing controversy regarding the direct capture component, which influences, among other things, the flux of gamma-rays from novae and isotopic anomalies in presolar grains. The 22Ne(a,n)25Mg reaction is one of the two most important neutron sources for the astrophysical s-process in AGB and in massive stars. Our understanding of the 26Mg level structure near the neutron threshold has been significantly improved recently as a result of a 26Mg(g,g)26Mg measurement at the HIgS facility. Implications for the reaction rates will be discussed.


Astrophysics Seminar
Markus Böttcher's home page
OU Astronomy and Astrophysics
Department Physics and Astronomy
Ohio University