Direct measurement of the low energy resonances in ²²Ne(α,γ)²⁶Mg reaction

The ²²Ne(α,γ)²⁶Mg is an important reaction in stellar helium-burning environments as it competes directly with one of the main neutron sources for the s-process, the ²²Ne(α,n)²⁵Mgreaction. The reaction rate of the ²²Ne(α,γ)²⁶Mg is dominated by the low energy resonances at E_α^lab = 650 and 830 keV respectively. The E_α^lab = 830 keV resonance has been measured previously, but there are some uncertainties in the previous measurements. We confirmed the measurement of the E_α^lab = 830 keV resonance using implanted ²²Ne targets and obtained a resonance strength of ωγ = 35 ± 4 μeV, and provide a weighted average of the present and previous measurements of ωγ = 35 ± 2 μeV with reduced uncertainties. We also attempted to measure the strength of the predicted resonance at E_α^lab = 650 keV directly for the first time and found an upper limit of ωγ < 0.1 μeV for the strength of this resonance. In addition, we also measured the Ep^lab = 851 keV resonance in ²²Ne(p,γ)²³Na, and obtained a resonance strength of ωγ = 9.2 ± 0.7 eV with significantly lower uncertainties compared to previous measurements.