Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process
ORAL
Abstract
The neutron inelastic scattering of carbon-12, populating the Hoyle state, is a reaction of interest for the triple-alpha process. The inverse process (neutron upscattering) can enhance the Hoyle state’s decay rate to the bound states of 12C, effectively increasing the overall triple-alpha reaction rate. The cross section of this reaction is impossible to measure experimentally but has been determined here at astrophysically-relevant energies using detailed balance. Using a highly-collimated monoenergetic beam, we measured neutrons incident on the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) filled with CO2 gas, measuring the 3α-particles (arising from the decay of the Hoyle state following inelastic scattering) and a cross section was extracted. The results of this recently-published work will be discussed.
*This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science, by National Nuclear Security Administration through the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University-Based Research (CENTAUR) and by the UK STFC Network+ Award Grant. This work also benefited from support by the National Science Foundation.
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Publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29848-7
Presenters
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Jack E Bishop
- Texas A&M University