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Content archived on 2024-06-25

Global Alpha Potential For P-Process Nucleosynthesis

Objective

Nuclear reaction rates play a crucial role in nuclear astrophysics. In the last decades there has been an enormous effort to measure reaction cross-sections and extensive experimental databases have been compiled as a result. In spite of these efforts, most nuclear reaction network calculations still have to rely on theoretical predictions of experimentally unknown rates. Theoretical estimates of radioactive alpha captures, alpha decays and alpha-particle transfer reactions in particular, remain highly uncertain due to the poor knowledge of the alpha-nucleus optical potential at low energies of relevance to astrophysics. A systematic and extensive effort is proposed to develop and improve global alpha-nucleus optical potentials.

This effort will involve contributions from both experimental nuclear physics and theoretical nuclear physics. New measurements of alpha-induced reactions at low energies will be performed in the A~100-200 mass range where data are currently scarce. To complement this, the existing glob al alpha-nucleus optical potential will be revisited with the aim to update the adjustable parameters to reproduce the old and new experimental cross sections. At the same time, an attempt will also be made to develop a microscopic alpha-nucleus optical potential, based on the application of the double-folding method to both the real and imaginary components of the potential. This way uncertainties associated with a large number of adjustable parameters will be removed. The impact of the microscopic alpha optical potential on large-scale calculations of reaction rates of relevance to the p process will be assessed.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Topic(s)

Call for proposal

FP6-2002-MOBILITY-11
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

ERG - Marie Curie actions-European Re-integration Grants

Coordinator

NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH "DEMOKRITOS"
EU contribution
No data
Total cost
No data