Understanding 26Al production in classical novae: search for new states in 26Si

by Ignasio Wakudyanaye (3^rd year PhD student)

The ²⁵Al(p, γ)²⁶Si reaction plays a crucial role in the production of the ²⁶Al radioisotope in the Galaxy. To accurately model the thermonuclear reaction rates for the production of ²⁶Al in astrophysical environments, spectroscopic information about the nature of the states (I^π , E_x ,..) close to the proton threshold is needed. Theoretical calculations predict three resonances in ²⁶Si with I^π = 3⁺, I^π = 1⁺ and I^π = 0⁺, lying close to the proton threshold that dominate the reaction rate. An experiment using the ²⁴Mg(3He, nγ)²⁶Si reaction at a beam energy of 7.9 MeV was conducted.
Neutron-gamma coincidence measurements were performed using the EDEN Array for the neutrons and Germanium detectors for the gamma-rays. States lying close to the proton threshold were populated. I’m going to present the first results of my analysis.