1. Direct Measurement of the Astrophysical F19(p,αγ)O16 Reaction in the Deepest Operational Underground Laboratory
- Author
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J. Su, SongPo Xu, You Zhou, Z. C. Zhang, E. T. Li, Feng-Shou Zhang, Z. M. Li, X. Tang, Qi Wu, X. Y. Li, J. Li, Yue Chen, J. J. He, X. Y. Guo, Y. H. Zhang, Michael Wiescher, Richard deBoer, H. Y. Zhang, Litao Sun, Jing Zhou, N. C. Qi, G. Lian, X. Z. Jiang, T. Y. Jiao, J. R. He, H. S. Xu, Z. G. Hu, B. Guo, Mengran Li, Peng Zhang, L. Zhang, Y. D. Sheng, D. Kahl, Jie Wang, Shuangxi Wang, Lei Wang, Ye Chen, Lufeng Zhang, B. Q. Cui, C. S. Shang, L. H. Chen, J. P. Chen, J. Q. Li, Hai-Hui Zhao, X. H. Zhou, W. L. Sun, Z. H. Li, F. Q. Cao, R. G. Ma, L. Y. Song, and W. P. Liu
- Subjects
Reaction rate ,Nuclear physics ,Physics ,CNO cycle ,Thermonuclear fusion ,chemistry ,Metallicity ,China Jinping Underground Laboratory ,Nuclear astrophysics ,Fluorine ,General Physics and Astronomy ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Energy (signal processing) - Abstract
Fluorine is one of the most interesting elements in nuclear astrophysics, where the ^{19}F(p,α)^{16}O reaction is of crucial importance for Galactic ^{19}F abundances and CNO cycle loss in first generation Population III stars. As a day-one campaign at the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics experimental facility, we report direct measurements of the essential ^{19}F(p,αγ)^{16}O reaction channel. The γ-ray yields were measured over E_{c.m.}=72.4-344 keV, covering the Gamow window; our energy of 72.4 keV is unprecedentedly low, reported here for the first time. The experiment was performed under the extremely low cosmic-ray-induced background environment of the China JinPing Underground Laboratory, one of the deepest underground laboratories in the world. The present low-energy S factors deviate significantly from previous theoretical predictions, and the uncertainties are significantly reduced. The thermonuclear ^{19}F(p,αγ)^{16}O reaction rate has been determined directly at the relevant astrophysical energies.
- Published
- 2021
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