LUNA400 and LUNA-MV: present and future of Nuclear Astrophysics at

Abstract

The understanding of our universe depends on the knowledge of the cross section of many nuclear reactions at low energy. In fact the existence of all the celestial bodies and their evolution is regulated by gravitation and specific thermonuclear reaction rates. Similarly, the light isotopes produced during the big bang nucleosynthesis are the result of the competition between the expanding universe and the cross sections of relevant nuclear processes. At energy of interest in nuclear astrophysics the cross sections are very low because of the Coulomb repulsion between the interacting nuclei. For this reason, nuclear astrophysics measurements are severely hampered by the radioactivity induced by cosmic rays. The natural solution is to study the reaction of astrophysical interest deep underground, were the background can be reduced by orders of magnitude with respect to facilities operating at the earth surface. LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics) is the worldwide only facility for nuclear astrophysics operating deep underground. This paper reports outstanding results obtained by LUNA and their implication in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. The future developments of the LUNA experiment are also discussed.