0000000001263914
AUTHOR
A. M. Laird
Horizons: Nuclear Astrophysics in the 2020s and Beyond
Nuclear astrophysics is a field at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics, which seeks to understand the nuclear engines of astronomical objects and the origin of the chemical elements. This white paper summarizes progress and status of the field, the new open questions that have emerged, and the tremendous scientific opportunities that have opened up with major advances in capabilities across an ever growing number of disciplines and subfields that need to be integrated.We take a holistic view of the field discussing the unique challenges and opportunities in nuclear astrophysics in regards to science, diversity, education, and the interdisciplinarity and breadth of the field…
Study of the Ti-44(alpha, p)V-47 reaction and implications for core collapse supernovae
The underlying physics triggering core collapse supernovae is not fully understood but observations of material ejected during such events helps to solve this puzzle. In particular, several satellite based γ -ray observations of the isotope 44Ti have been reported recently. Conveniently, the amount of this isotope in stellar ejecta is thought to depend critically on the explosion mechanism. The most influential reaction to the amount of 44Ti in supernovae is 44Ti(α, p)47V. Here we report on a direct study of this reaction conducted at the REX-ISOLDE facility, CERN. The experiment was performed with a 44Ti beam at Elab = 2.16 MeV/u, corresponding to an energy distribution, for reacting α-par…