Study of the $^{19}$F($\alpha $,p)$^{22}$Ne reaction with an extended gas target

Because of the astrophysical importance of measuring numerous ($\alpha $,p) reactions for explosive nucleosynthesis, we have developed a new approach using heavy ion beams incident on a He target and have measured the $^{4}$He($^{19}$F,$^{1}$H)$^{22}$Ne reaction as a first demonstration. $^{19}$F beams were produced at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and bombarded a large scattering chamber filled with helium gas. Using a newly built gas recirculator system, a windowless gas target was maintained at a constant He pressure of 9 Torr. Recoiling protons from the reactions were detected by a large area annular silicon strip detector array (SIDAR) which was configured in dE-E telescope mode. We measured the $^{19}$F($\alpha $,p) and $^{19}$F($\alpha $,p') excitation functions over the energy range of Ec.m.$\sim $1-2.1 MeV. Details of the experimental setup and a status report on the analysis will be presented. *Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.