Spin Assignments of excited states in $^{23}$Mg through a $^{24}$Mg(p,d)$^{23}$Mg reaction

The $^{22}$Na(p,$\gamma$)$^{23}$Mg reaction is part of the hot NeNa cycle, which is important for the nucleosynthesis of Ne and Na isotopes in stellar explosions such as novae. Observation of the characteristic $\gamma$-ray line at 1275 keV from the decay of $^{22}$Na is a promising mechanism to constrain nova models. As the reaction proceeds through resonances in $^{23}$Mg, the properties of $^{23}$Mg levels above the proton threshold are important. We measured the $^{24}$Mg(p,d)$^{23}$Mg reaction using 41 and 41.5 MeV proton beams and a 500 $\mu$g/cm$^{2}$ $^{24}$Mg target at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility to better constrain the spins of important levels. Reaction deuterons were detected and identified in the segmented 16-strip silicon detector array SIDAR. By comparing the angular distributions and DWBA calculations, we are able to constrain the spins and parities of levels in $^{23}$Mg. Experimental details and a status report on the analysis will be presented. *This work is supported in part by the US DOE and the NSF.