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This work derives the value of the neutron capture cross section of 60Fe at the energy of kT = 25 meV. Iron plays an important role in stellar nucleosynthesis, because it is a seed material for the s-process, a neutron capture process in which the elements between iron and bismuth are synthesized.
To determine the thermal neutron cross section of 60Fe, an iron sample produced in the framework of the ERAWAST1 program at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland was irradiated at the research reactor TRIGA2 at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. Before the irradiation, the number of 60Fe particles in the sample was calculated using the decay scheme of 60Fe. There were (8.207 ± 0:066 stat 0:298 syst) * 10 14 60Fe particles in the sample.
The irradiation of the sample took place in May 2012. The counting of the reaction product, 61Fe, was undertaken using a HPGe detector located in a laboratory at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Knowing the number of 60Fe particles in the sample, the number of produced 61Fe particles and the neutron flux from the reactor, the thermal neutron capture cross section of ρth60Fe = (0.203 ± 0:021 stat 0:024 syst) b could be determined.
The determination of the thermal neutron capture cross section at the energy of kT = 25 meV constitutes to the first at this energy. There was already a measurement of the neutron capture cross section of 60Fe at the energy of kT = 25 keV in Karlsruhe in Germany. The result of the measurement was 25 keV = (9.9 ± 2:8 syst 1:4 stat) mb and was published in the year 2009 [14].
Adding datapoints for the cross section at different energies improves extarpolation and helps verification of theoretical models for elemental synthesis. For this reason, a measurement of the 60Fe neutron capture cross section at the energy of kT = 90 keV is planned at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.
Having the neutron capture cross section of 60Fe at the energy of kT = 25 keV measured in the year 2009 in Karlsruhe [14], at the energy of kT = 25 meV measured in May 2012 at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and at the planned energy of kT = 90 keV at Goethe University Frankfurt, there will be three points for the extrapolation of the values for the neutron capture cross section of 60Fe. This will lead to a significant reduction in uncertainty with respect to existing theoretical discrepancies.
Within the nucleosynthetic processes of the slow neutron-capture reaction network (called the s process) the so called branching points, unstable isotopes where different nuclear reactions are competing, are important to understand . For modeling and calculating the nucleosynthesis and compare the resulting abundances to the observed ones, it is indispensable to know the branching ratios as well as the corresponding cross sections.
A great challenge in measuring those rates in experiments may be the radioactivity of the isotopes involved, which can make it nearly impossible to manufacture the needed targets. In addition, in stellar environments the excited states of isotopes can be in equilibrium with the ground state, affecting the half-lives and the branching ratios significantly. The isotope 152Eu is such a branching point, with neutron captures and β-decays competing. Those challenges were approached in the s405 experiment performed at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH: the challenge the challenge of the radioactivity can be approached by experiments carried out in inverse kinematics with radioactive beams, solving the problem of unstable targets. Also a reversed reaction was used to access the excited states of the studied isotope. The performed 152Sm(p,n)152Eu is a pioneering attempt to use those methods on heavy ions. The (p,n) reaction was used as a substitute for electron capture, the focus lies on reactions with low-momentum transfers, resulting in the emission of low-energy neutrons. The new developed low-energy detector array LENA was put to test for the fist time in the s405 experiment.
This thesis presents the first measurement of the proton capture reaction on the isotope 124Xe performed in inverse kinematics. The experiment was carried out in June 2016 at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany.
124Xe is one of about 35 p-nuclei that cannot be produced via neutron-induced nucleo- synthesis as the vast majority of heavy elements. Its production and destruction provide important information about the nucleosynthesis of the p-nuclei. Measuring the 124Xe(p,g)125Cs reaction also gives strong constraints for its reverse 125Cs(g,p)124Xe reaction.
Fully stripped 124Xe ions repeatedly passed a H2 gas jet target at five different energies between 5.5 MeV/u and 8 MeV/u. An electron cooler compensated for the energy loss in the target and reduced the beam momentum spread. The reaction product 125Cs55+ has a smaller magnetic rigidity than 124Xe54+. Therefore 125Cs55+ was deflected towards smaller radii in the first dipole after the target area and thereby separated from 124Xe54+. It was detected with a position-sensitive Double-Sided Silicon Strip Detector (DSSSD). The novelty of this experiment was the installation of the DSSSD inside the ultra-high vacuum of the storage ring using a newly designed manipulator.
Three High-Purity Germanium X-ray detectors were used to measure the X-rays following the Radiative Electron Capture (REC) events into 124Xe53+. The REC cross sections are well-known and were used to determine the luminosity.
The 124Xe(p,g)125Cs cross sections at ion beam energies between 5.5 MeV/u and 8 MeV/u were determined relatively to the K-REC cross sections and finally compared to the theoretically predicted cross sections. While theoretical predictions of the TENDL database are lower than the measured ones by a factor of up to seven, the NON-SMOKER data are higher by a factor of up to two, except of the cross section at 7 MeV/u, where NON-SMOKER data are slightly lower than the experimental value.
For the first time, a proton capture cross section could be measured in inverse kinematics close to the astrophysically relevant Gamow window. This allows the direct determination of the (p,g) cross section of isotopes with half-lives down to several minutes, which is not possible with any other technique.
Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are initially low and intermediate mass stars undergoing recurrent hydrogen and helium shell burning. During the advanced stage of stellar evolution AGB stars follow after the helium core burning ceased and are located in the AGB of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram. One characteristic is their ability of element synthesis, especially carbon and nitrogen, which they eject in large amounts into the interstellar medium. But AGB stars also feature a slow-neutron capture process called s-process which forms approximately 50 % of all elements between Fe and Bi. The initial mass function emphasizes the importance of the synthesized ejecta of AGB stars since they are much more abundant than massive stars. Therefore, the abundance evolution of many elements in the universe is drastically affected by AGB stars. In order to understand chemical evolution in the universe their behavior must be known since their first appearance. In previous times less heavy elements were produced and available. Hence AGB stars with lower heavy element content, which means lower metallicity, must be investigated. They appear to behave substantially differently than stars of higher metallicity. Another issue is that AGB stars have mass-dependent characteristics from which follows a division into low-mass, massive and super AGB stars. Super AGB stars have the most open issues due to their large masses and initial mass boundaries that separate them from massive stars. Due to large spectroscopic surveys in the last years, many low metallicity stars have been analyzed. These findings make it necessary to complement those studies through stellar modeling. This work makes a step in this direction. The AGB star masses under investigation are 1M⊙, 1.65M⊙, 2M⊙, 3M⊙, 4M⊙, 5M⊙, 6M⊙ and 7M⊙ which include low-mass, massive and super AGB stars. Metallicities of Z = 6 x 10 exp-3 and Z = 1 x 10 exp-4 (for comparison, solar Z ~ 0.02) were chosen. These results are an extension of already available data, covering solar and half-solar metallicity, but without super AGB stars. Therefore physics input includes mainly well-established approaches rather than new theories. New physical approaches are included due to the low metallicity which makes the results a unique set of models. Additionally, extensive s-process network calculations lead to production factors of all included elements and isotopes. The s-process signatures of those stars were analyzed. The stellar evolution simulations presented in this work have been utilized for rate and especially sensitivity studies. One approach done was to analyze s-process branchings at 95Zr and 85Kr for stars at 3M⊙ with Z = 1 x 10 exp-2 and Z = 1 x 10 exp-3 respectively.
Most of the elements in the universe are produced via charged-particle fusion reactions during the primordial nucleosynthesis and different stellar burning stages, as well as via neutron-capture reactions. Around 35 heavy, proton-rich isotopes are bypassed by those reaction paths, the p nuclei. A series of photo-disintegration reactions occurring in supernovae, called the γ process, was suggested as a mechanisms to produce the p nuclei. Numerical simulations of the γ process have been unable to reproduce the observed abundances of the light p isotopes. Recent models showed that a series of proton capture reactions could provide the observed abundances. Hence, the cross sections of the crucial capture reactions have to be measured in order to test those assumptions.
Radiative proton captures in addition to the γ-process could reproduce the observed abundance pattern. This thesis presents preparations of a proton capture measurement on the radioactive 91Nb in standard kinematics with a calorimetric 4π setup. The 91Nb(p,γ)92Mo reaction might be the key to explain the production of one of the most abundant p-nuclei, 92Mo. So far, no experimental data for this reaction is available.
We produced a sample of 91Nb, with a half-life of 680 yr, at the Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, Germany, by irradiating 92Mo with protons in the energy range of 12 – 20MeV. 91Nb was produced via the reaction 92Mo(p,2p)91Nb and via 92Mo(p,pn)91Mo, where 91Mo decays to 91Nb with a half-life of 15.5min. To predict the amount of produced 91Nb the cross section of 92Mo(p, 2p) was measured. It was found to be higher than the value given by theoretical calculations with TALYS. Finally, 91Nb was chemically separated from the molybdenum carried at Paul-Scherrer- Institut, Villigen, Switzerland.
In-beam total absorption cross-section measurement of the reaction 91Nb(p,γ)92Mo with 2 MeV protons at FRANZ is planed with the produced 91Nb. A 4π BaF2 detector consisting of 41 crystals will be used. During this experiment we will measure the sum energy and the multiplicity of each event. The freshly produced 91Nb constitutes only a minor component of the sample material. The sum energy and multiplicity are crucial to distinguish the desired 91Nb(p,γ) from all the other more dominant reactions. The expected multiplicity and the efficiency of the setup were carefully simulated with DICEBOX and GEANT4. It was possible to show that background reactions can be effectively suppressed. The most important background contributions could be identified and result from 92Mo(p,γ), 19F(p,γ), and 19F(p,α).
In order to understand the origin of the elements in the universe, one must understand the nuclear reactions by which atomic nuclei are transformed. There are many different astrophysical environments that fulfill the conditions of different nucleosynthesis processes. Even though great progress has been made in recent decades in understanding the origin of the elements in the universe, some questions remain unanswered. In order to understand the processes, it is necessary to measure cross sections of the involved reactions and constrain theoretical model predictions. A variety of methods have been developed to measure nuclear reaction cross sections relevant for nuclear astrophysics. In this thesis, two different experiments and their results, both using the well-established activation method, are presented.
A measurement of the proton capture cross section on the p-nuclide 96Ru was performed at the Institute of Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics ISNAP - Notre Dame, USA. The main goal of this experiment was to compare the results with those obtained by Mei et al. in a pioneering experiment using the method of inverse kinematics at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH - Darmstadt, Germany. Therefore, the activations were taken out at the same center of mass energies of 9 MeV, 10 MeV and 11 MeV. Another activation was taken out at an energy of 3.2 MeV to compare the result to a measurement of Bork et al. who also used the activation method. While the results at 3.2 MeV agree quite well with those of Bork et al., the results at higher energies show significantly smaller cross sections than those measured by Mei et al.. Experimental details, the data analysis and sources of uncertainties are discussed.
The second part of this thesis describes a neutron capture cross section experiment. At the Institut für Kernphysik - Goethe Universtität Frankfurt an experimental setup allows to produce quasi maxwell-distributed neutron fields to measure maxwell-averaged cross sections (MACS) relevant for s-process nucleosynthesis. The setup was upgraded by a fast electric linear guide to transport samples from the activation to the detection site. The cyclic activation of the sample allows to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and to measure neutron captures that lead to nuclei with
half-lives on the order of seconds. In a first campaign, MACS of the reactions 51V(n,γ), 107,109Ag(n,γ) and 103Rh(n,γ) were measured. The new components of the setup aswell as the data analysis framework are described and the results of the measurements are discussed.
Most of the elements heavier than iron are produced through neutron capture reactions in the s- and r -process. The overall path of the s-process is well understood and can be accurately reproduced in network simulations. However, there are still some neutron capture reactions of unstable nuclei involved in the s-process, which were not yet measured due to the difficulty in producing suitable targets. In those cases, theoretical models have to be used to estimate the missing cross section.
One example is the branching point nucleus 86Rb, whose neutron capture cross section cannot be directly measured due to its short half life of 18.86 days. It is, however, also possible to measure its inverse, the 87Rb(g,n) reaction in order to obtain the 86Rb(n,g) cross section through the principle of detailed balance.
Natural rubidium was irradiated with a quasi-monoenergetic photon beam in the energy range between 10.7 MeV and 16 MeV in order to investigate the photo-dissociation cross section of 87Rb. The results are presented in this thesis. Not only the total cross section of 87Rb(g,n), but also the partial production cross section of the ground and isomeric state of 84Rb through the 85Rb(g,n) reaction was measured.
Not all isotopes can be reached via neutron capture reaction, and are therefore bypassed by the s- and r -process. These 35 proton-rich isotopes are called p-nuclei and are produced in the γ-process by a chain of photo-disintegration reactions in Type II supernovae. Network calculations of Type II supernova show that the γ-process can explain the production of most p-nuclei, but some – especially 92/94Mo and 96/98Ru – are heavily underproduced. While this could be the result of deficiencies in the corresponding stellar models or insufficient knowledge of the involved reaction rates, it is also possible that the missing p-nuclei are synthesized in other production scenarios.
An alternative scenario for 92Mo is the production via a chain of proton capture reactions in Type Ia supernovae. One important reaction in this chain is the 90Zr(p,g) reaction. The reaction cross section was already measured several times, but the results were inconclusive. In the present work, the 90 Zr(p,g) reaction was measured using the in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy technique and the discrepancies between the data sets could be largely explained.
This thesis presents experimental studies of proton capture and fragmentation reactions with heavy-ion storage rings. In one experiment, the 96Ru(p, γ)97Rh cross sections near the Gamow window have been measured at the ESR of GSI. In the other experiment, the measurement of the fragmentation yields has been carried out at the CSRe of IMP.
It is essential to determine the cross sections of (γ, p) or (p, γ) reactions for p-process network calculations. However, only very few of the required cross sections have been measured and thus most of them rely solely on Hauser-Feshbach model predictions. The predictions of the model have always very large uncertainties because of the not well-known input parameters. These parameters can be constrained by experiments. Compared to the traditional activation technique, a novel method using a storage ring has been developed to measure the cross sections of (p, γ) reactions in inverse kinematics.
This proton capture experiment has been performed at the ESR, where the circulating 96Ru44+ ions interacted with a hydrogen gas target at 9, 10 and 11 MeV/u. The nuclear reaction products of (p, p), (p, α), (p, n) and (p, γ) reactions were registered by position sensitive detectors. A Geant4 simulation code has been developed to distinguish the (p, γ) reaction products unambiguously from the background reactions. In this work, a relative normalization method has been utilized to accurately determine the cross sections of the (p, γ) reaction. The 96Ru(p, γ)97Rh cross section in the Gamow window of the p process is sensitive to two parameters, i.e., the γ-ray strength function and the optical model potential, while it is mainly sensitive to the γ-ray strength function in the energy region of our experiment. Therefore, our experimental (p, γ) cross sections near 10 MeV/u have been used to directly constrain the γ-ray strength function used in the model. Furthermore, the proton potential has also been constrained by combining our results with additional experimental data for this reaction in the lower energy region. The constrained model has been used to calculate the reaction rate over a wide temperature range, which is an extremely important input for astrophysical calculations.
The yields of fragments produced by 78Kr fragmentation reactions have been measured at the CSRe for the Tz = −1/2 and Tz = 1/2 nuclei along or close to the paths of αp- and rp-processes. The measured yields present a significant odd-even staggering effect for Tz = −1/2 nuclides but they are small for Tz = 1/2 nuclides.
The magnitude of this effect for four consecutive yields has been quantified using a third-order difference formula. It is found that the largest odd-even staggering is reached near the closed shells Z = 20 and Z = 28. Our experimental results could also compared with the data from other experiments with different projectile-target combinations. All these experimental data strongly support the closed shells Z = 20 and Z = 28 for the Tz = −1/2 nuclei.