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Status and future directions for direct cross-section measurements of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction for astrophysics

Fuente: arXiv

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Main Authors:	Csedreki, L., Gyürky, Gy., Rapagnani, D., Ciani, G. F., Aliotta, M., Anannad, C., Barbieri, L., Barile, F., Bemmerer, D., Best, A., Boeltzig, A., Broggini, C., Bruno, C. G., Caciolli, A., Casaburom, F., Cavannak, F., Colombetti, P., Compagnucci, A., Corvisiero, P., Davinson, T., Depalo, R., Di Leva, A., Elekes, Z., Ferraro, F., Formicola, A., Fülöpa, Zs., Gervino, G., Guglielmetti, A., Gustavino, C., Imbriani, G., Junker, M., Lugaro, M., Marigo, P., Marsh, J., Masha, E., Menegazzo, R., Mercogliano, D., Paticchio, V., Perrino, R., Piatti, D., Prati, P., Robb, D., Schiavulli, L., Sidhu, R. S., Skowronski, J., Straniero, O., Szücsa, T., Zavatarelli, S.
Format:	Preprint
Published:	2025
Subjects:	Nuclear Experiment
Online Access:	Acceder al recurso
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_version_	1866912623170158592
author	Csedreki, L. Gyürky, Gy. Rapagnani, D. Ciani, G. F. Aliotta, M. Anannad, C. Barbieri, L. Barile, F. Bemmerer, D. Best, A. Boeltzig, A. Broggini, C. Bruno, C. G. Caciolli, A. Casaburom, F. Cavannak, F. Colombetti, P. Compagnucci, A. Corvisiero, P. Davinson, T. Depalo, R. Di Leva, A. Elekes, Z. Ferraro, F. Formicola, A. Fülöpa, Zs. Gervino, G. Guglielmetti, A. Gustavino, C. Imbriani, G. Junker, M. Lugaro, M. Marigo, P. Marsh, J. Masha, E. Menegazzo, R. Mercogliano, D. Paticchio, V. Perrino, R. Piatti, D. Prati, P. Robb, D. Schiavulli, L. Sidhu, R. S. Skowronski, J. Straniero, O. Szücsa, T. Zavatarelli, S.
author_facet	Csedreki, L. Gyürky, Gy. Rapagnani, D. Ciani, G. F. Aliotta, M. Anannad, C. Barbieri, L. Barile, F. Bemmerer, D. Best, A. Boeltzig, A. Broggini, C. Bruno, C. G. Caciolli, A. Casaburom, F. Cavannak, F. Colombetti, P. Compagnucci, A. Corvisiero, P. Davinson, T. Depalo, R. Di Leva, A. Elekes, Z. Ferraro, F. Formicola, A. Fülöpa, Zs. Gervino, G. Guglielmetti, A. Gustavino, C. Imbriani, G. Junker, M. Lugaro, M. Marigo, P. Marsh, J. Masha, E. Menegazzo, R. Mercogliano, D. Paticchio, V. Perrino, R. Piatti, D. Prati, P. Robb, D. Schiavulli, L. Sidhu, R. S. Skowronski, J. Straniero, O. Szücsa, T. Zavatarelli, S.
contents	The 13C(a,n)16O reaction is the main neutron source of the s-process taking place in thermally pulsing AGB stars and it is one of the main candidate sources of neutrons for the i-process in the astrophysical sites proposed so far. Therefore, its rate is crucial to understand the production of the nuclei heavier than iron in the Universe. For the first time, the LUNA collaboration was able to measure the 13C(a,n)16O cross section at Ec.m.=0.23-0.3 MeV drastically reducing the uncertainty of the S(E)-factor in the astrophysically relevant energy range. In this paper, we provide details and critical thoughts about the LUNA measurement and compare them with the current understanding of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction in view of future prospect for higher energy measurements. The two very recent results (from the University of Notre Dame and the JUNA collaboration) published after the LUNA data represent an important step forward. There is, however, still room for a lot of improvement in the experimental study of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction, as emphasized in the present manuscript. We conclude that to provide significantly better constraints on the low-energy extrapolation, experimental data need to be provided over a wide energy range, which overlaps with the energy range of current measurements. Furthermore, future experiments need to focus on the proper target characterisation, the determination of neutron detection efficiency having more nuclear physics input, such as angular distribution of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction below Ea<0.8 MeV and study of nuclear properties of monoenergetic neutron sources and/or via the study of sharp resonances of 13C(a,n)16O. Moreover, comprehensive, multichannel R-matrix analysis with a proper estimate of uncertainty budget of experimental data are still required.
format	Preprint
id	arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_01966
institution	arXiv
publishDate	2025
record_format	arxiv
spellingShingle	Status and future directions for direct cross-section measurements of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction for astrophysics Csedreki, L. Gyürky, Gy. Rapagnani, D. Ciani, G. F. Aliotta, M. Anannad, C. Barbieri, L. Barile, F. Bemmerer, D. Best, A. Boeltzig, A. Broggini, C. Bruno, C. G. Caciolli, A. Casaburom, F. Cavannak, F. Colombetti, P. Compagnucci, A. Corvisiero, P. Davinson, T. Depalo, R. Di Leva, A. Elekes, Z. Ferraro, F. Formicola, A. Fülöpa, Zs. Gervino, G. Guglielmetti, A. Gustavino, C. Imbriani, G. Junker, M. Lugaro, M. Marigo, P. Marsh, J. Masha, E. Menegazzo, R. Mercogliano, D. Paticchio, V. Perrino, R. Piatti, D. Prati, P. Robb, D. Schiavulli, L. Sidhu, R. S. Skowronski, J. Straniero, O. Szücsa, T. Zavatarelli, S. Nuclear Experiment The 13C(a,n)16O reaction is the main neutron source of the s-process taking place in thermally pulsing AGB stars and it is one of the main candidate sources of neutrons for the i-process in the astrophysical sites proposed so far. Therefore, its rate is crucial to understand the production of the nuclei heavier than iron in the Universe. For the first time, the LUNA collaboration was able to measure the 13C(a,n)16O cross section at Ec.m.=0.23-0.3 MeV drastically reducing the uncertainty of the S(E)-factor in the astrophysically relevant energy range. In this paper, we provide details and critical thoughts about the LUNA measurement and compare them with the current understanding of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction in view of future prospect for higher energy measurements. The two very recent results (from the University of Notre Dame and the JUNA collaboration) published after the LUNA data represent an important step forward. There is, however, still room for a lot of improvement in the experimental study of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction, as emphasized in the present manuscript. We conclude that to provide significantly better constraints on the low-energy extrapolation, experimental data need to be provided over a wide energy range, which overlaps with the energy range of current measurements. Furthermore, future experiments need to focus on the proper target characterisation, the determination of neutron detection efficiency having more nuclear physics input, such as angular distribution of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction below Ea<0.8 MeV and study of nuclear properties of monoenergetic neutron sources and/or via the study of sharp resonances of 13C(a,n)16O. Moreover, comprehensive, multichannel R-matrix analysis with a proper estimate of uncertainty budget of experimental data are still required.
title	Status and future directions for direct cross-section measurements of the 13C(a,n)16O reaction for astrophysics
topic	Nuclear Experiment
url	https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.01966