Direct Measurement of the Key e c. m.=456 keV Resonance in the Astrophysical Ne 19 (p,γ) Na 20 Reaction and Its Relevance for Explosive Binary Systems

We have performed a direct measurement of the Ne19(p,γ)Na20 reaction in inverse kinematics using a beam of radioactive Ne19. The key astrophysical resonance in the Ne19+p system has been definitely measured for the first time at Ec.m.=456-2+5 keV with an associated strength of 17-5+7 meV. The present results are in agreement with resonance strength upper limits set by previous direct measurements, as well as resonance energies inferred from precision (He3, t) charge exchange reactions. However, both the energy and strength of the 456 keV resonance disagree with a recent indirect study of the Ne19(d, n)Na20 reaction. In particular, the new Ne19(p,γ)Na20 reaction rate is found to be factors of ∼8 and ∼5 lower than the most recent evaluation over the temperature range of oxygen-neon novae and astrophysical x-ray bursts, respectively. Nevertheless, we find that the Ne19(p,γ)Na20 reaction is likely to proceed fast enough to significantly reduce the flux of F19 in nova ejecta and does not create a bottleneck in the breakout from the hot CNO cycles into the rp process.