Measurement of near-threshold resonance properties in 9B for Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

ORAL

Abstract

The primordial abundance of lithium constitutes the largest discrepancy between the observation of primordial elements and the expectations from Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (SBBN). However, this assumes that the nuclear reactions which could potentially destroy mass-7 nuclei are known to sufficient precision. One of the reactions in question is $^7Be+d \rightarrow 2\alpha + p$. The relevance of the rate for this reaction in SBBN conditions hinges upon the properties of resonances close to the deuteron decay threshold in $^9B$. Using the Super Enge Split-Pole Spectrograph (SESPS) and the Silicon Array for Branching Ratio Experiments (SABRE) at Florida State University, a measurement of $^{10}B(^3He, \alpha)^9B \rightarrow ^7Be+d$ was performed to determine resonance properties of $^9B$ states in the region of interest for SBBN. Results and impact on SBBN will be discussed.

*This work was supported by NSF Grants PHY-1712953, PHY-2012522, PHY-1429019 and DOE grants DE-SC0014231, DE-FG0296ER40978 and National Nuclear Security Administration under Grant No. DE-NA0003841.

Presenters

  • Gordon W McCann

    • Florida State University
    • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

Authors

  • Gordon W McCann

    • Florida State University
    • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
  • Ingo L Wiedenhoever

    • Florida State University
    • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
  • Lagy T Baby

    • Florida State University
    • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
  • Jeff C Blackmon

    • Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
    • Louisiana State University
  • Catherine M Deibel

    • Louisiana State University
    • Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Kenneth G Hanselman

    • Florida State University
    • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
  • Kevin T Macon

    • Louisiana State University
    • Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Rachel Malecek

    • Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
    • Louisiana State University
  • Scott T Marley

    • Louisiana State University
  • Balakrishnan Sudarsan

    • Louisiana State University
    • Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.