Effect of the <sup>22</sup>Mg(α,p)<sup>25</sup>Al reaction in Type I X-ray bursts

ORAL

Abstract

We have performed a direct measurement of the 22Mg(α,p)25Al reaction cross section in inverse kinematics for a center of mass energy range of 3.5 - 7 MeV using a 22Mg beam from the Argonne In-Flight Radioactive Ion Separator (RAISOR) and the MUlti-Sampling Ionization Chamber (MUSIC) at Argonne National Laboratory. The dominant (p,γ) nucleosynthesis flow in Type I X-ray bursts (XRBs) is halted at several waiting point nuclei such as 22Mg, 24-26Si, 28-30S and 34Ar due to (p,γ)-(γ,p) equilibrium. It has been suggested that the flow can be bypassed by (α,p) reactions on these waiting point nuclei. However, the present uncertainties in the relevant (α,p) reaction rates at these waiting points hinder the ability to accurately predict the light curve and ash composition of XRBs. Among the reactions on the waiting point nuclei, the 22Mg(α,p)25Al reaction has been identified as an important reaction bypassing the waiting points for XRB nucleosynthesis. Thus, it is crucial to constrain the reaction rate of the 22Mg(α,p)25Al reaction at astrophysical energies.

*This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, under contract number DE-AC02-06CH11357, and National Research Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH), Budapest, Hungary (K134197). This research used resources of Argonne National Laboratory's ATLAS facility, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

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Presenters

  • Heshani Jayatissa

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

Authors

  • Heshani Jayatissa

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

  • Melina Avila

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Karl E Rehm

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Benjamin P Kay

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Z. P Meisel

    • Ohio University

  • Wei Jia Ong

    • Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab
    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory

  • David Neto

    • University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Daniel Santiago-Gonzalez

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA

  • Claus Muller-Gatermann

    • ANL
    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Tsz Leung Tang

    • Florida State University
    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Gemma L Wilson

    • Louisiana State University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

  • Calem R Hoffman

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Claudio Ugalde

    • University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Athanasios Psaltis

    • TU Darmstadt
    • Technical University of Darmstadt

  • Tan Ahn

    • University of Notre Dame

  • David H Potterveld

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Jie Chen

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Johnson Liang

    • TRIUMF
    • McMaster Univ
    • McMaster University

  • Kenneth M Teh

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • M. P Carpenter

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA