Special Heavy Ion Discussion Group, 11 January 2024, 10 a.m.
Title: Constraining reaction rate uncertainties for nuclear astrophysics
Speaker: Heshani Jayatissa, Los Alamos National Laboratory
(Host: Darek Seweryniak)
Abstract: Capture reactions play a crucial role in understanding the nucleosynthesis processes in different stellar environments such as asymptotic giant branch stars, supernovae, x-ray bursts and neutron star mergers. The underlying mechanisms of such astrophysical sites can be better understood using theoretical modelling and through comparisons with astronomical observations. These models require important inputs such as reaction cross sections and reaction rates. Experimentally constraining many of these relevant nuclear reaction uncertainties is challenging due to low reaction cross sections and the need for sufficiently intense radioactive beams. With recent advances in radioactive beam facilities such as ATLAS and FRIB, more opportunities are emerging to constrain reaction properties of isotopes that were previously thought to be inaccessible. In this talk, an overview of different measurement techniques that have been used to constrain several alpha- , proton- and neutron- capture cross sections and reaction rates important for nuclear astrophysics will be presented. Possible future opportunities utilizing available facilities, novel detectors and measurement techniques will also be highlighted.