21Na(ρ,ϒ)22Mg Reaction and Oxygen-Neon Novae

The ²¹Na(ρ,ϒ)²²Mg recation is expected to play in important role in the nucleosynthesis of ²²Na in oxygen-neon novae. The decay of ²²Na leads to the emission of a characteristic 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line. This report provides the first direct measurement of the rate of this reaction using a radioactive ²¹Na beam, and discusses its astrophysical implications. The energy of the important state was measured to be E_c.m.= 205.7 keV with a resonance strength ωϒ= 1.03 ± 0.16_stat ± 0.14_sys meV.

na21_prl.pdf

Author: Bishop, L. et al.

Journal: Physical Review Letters