Kirsebom, O. S., Tengblad, O., Lica, R. et al. (41 more authors) (2018) First Accurate Normalization of the β -delayed α Decay of N 16 and Implications for the C 12 (α,γ) O 16 Astrophysical Reaction Rate. Physical Review Letters. 142701. p. 142701. ISSN 1079-7114
Abstract
The C12(α,γ)O16 reaction plays a central role in astrophysics, but its cross section at energies relevant for astrophysical applications is only poorly constrained by laboratory data. The reduced α width, γ11, of the bound 1- level in O16 is particularly important to determine the cross section. The magnitude of γ11 is determined via sub-Coulomb α-transfer reactions or the β-delayed α decay of N16, but the latter approach is presently hampered by the lack of sufficiently precise data on the β-decay branching ratios. Here we report improved branching ratios for the bound 1- level [bβ,11=(5.02±0.10)×10-2] and for β-delayed α emission [bβα=(1.59±0.06)×10-5]. Our value for bβα is 33% larger than previously held, leading to a substantial increase in γ11. Our revised value for γ11 is in good agreement with the value obtained in α-transfer studies and the weighted average of the two gives a robust and precise determination of γ11, which provides significantly improved constraints on the C12(α,γ) cross section in the energy range relevant to hydrostatic He burning.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Physics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 05 Oct 2018 08:40 |
Last Modified: | 21 Dec 2024 00:16 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.142701 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.142701 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:136750 |
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Filename: PhysRevLett.121.142701.pdf
Description: First Accurate Normalization of the β-delayed α Decay of 16N and Implications for the 12Cðα;γÞ16O Astrophysical Reaction Rate
Licence: CC-BY 2.5