Abstract
The synthesis of heavy, proton rich isotopes is a poorly understood astrophysical process. Thermonuclear (type Ia) supernova explosions are among the suggested sites and the abundance of some isotopes present in the early Solar System may be used to test the models. 92Nb is such an isotope and one of the reactions playing a role in its synthesis is 91Zr(p,γ)92Nb. As no experimental cross sections were available for this reaction so far, nucleosynthesis models had to solely rely on theoretical calculations. In the present work the cross section of 91Zr(p,γ)92m Nb has been measured at astrophysical energies by activation. The results excellently confirm the predictions of cross sections and reaction rates for 91Zr(p,γ)92Nb, as used in astrophysical simulations.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 105202 |
Journal | Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 10 |
Early online date | 14 Sept 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Oct 2021 |
Keywords
- Paper
- Nuclear and particle astrophysics
- nuclear astrophysics
- explosive nucleosynthesis
- astrophysical p-process
- nuclear reactions
- cross section measurement
- activation method
- statistical model