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Measurement of the 13C(α, n0)16O Differential Cross Section from 0.8 to 6.5 MeV

by J. Deboer, Michael T Febbraro, Jason T Nattress
Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Physics Review Letters
Publication Date
Page Number
062702
Volume
132
Issue
6

The cross section of the 13C(α,n)16O reaction is needed for nuclear astrophysics and applications to a precision of 10% or better, yet inconsistencies among 50 years of experimental studies currently lead to an uncertainty of ≈15%. Using a state-of-the-art neutron detection array, we have performed a high resolution differential cross section study covering a broad energy range. These measurements result in a dramatic improvement in the extrapolation of the cross section to stellar energies potentially reducing the uncertainty to ≈5% and resolving long standing discrepancies in higher energy data.