Spectroscopic Study on $$^{ 39 }$$ Ca Using the $$^{ 40 }$$ Ca(d,t) $$^{ 39 }$$ Ca Reaction for Classical Nova Endpoint Nucleosynthesis

In classical novae simulations, the uncertainty in the reaction rate of \(^{ 38 }\)K(p,\(\gamma \)) has been shown to affect the abundances of endpoint nuclides significantly. To better understand the reaction rate, we have done a spectroscopic study on \(^{ 39 }\)Ca. The reaction \(^{ 40 }\)Ca(d,t)\(^{ 39 }\)Ca at a beam energy of 22 MeV was used to populate excited states of \(^{ 39 }\)Ca. Tritons were momentum analyzed using a high resolution quadrupole-dipole-dipole-dipole (Q3D) magnetic spectrograph at 4 angles. Preliminary resonance energies for \(^{ 39 }\)Ca within the energetic region of interest for classical novae - 6.0–6.4 MeV - were determined.