Abstract
The reaction rate of the triple-alpha reaction can be enhanced in hot and dense environments due to the deexcitation of the Hoyle state in 12C by neutrons. The cross section of the deexcitation should be determined for the enhanced reaction rate. We plan to obtain the cross section by measuring the inverse reaction using a neutron beam around 10 MeV and an active target system. In the present paper, we report a proof-of-principle experiment using a neutron beam at 14 MeV. The obtained cross section is consistent with a previous result, demonstrating the validity of our method.
Highlights
The triple-alpha reaction is one of the most crucial nucleosynthesis reactions because it is the doorway reaction from A < 5 nuclei to heavier elements
The ground state of 12C nucleus is populated from three alpha particles via the two alpha and three alpha resonance states in 8Be and 12C, followed by the gamma decay of the resonance state in 12C
Since the triple-alpha reaction proceeds via the Hoyle state, its branching ratio to the ground state is directly related to the reaction rate
Summary
The triple-alpha reaction is one of the most crucial nucleosynthesis reactions because it is the doorway reaction from A < 5 nuclei to heavier elements In this reaction, the ground state of 12C nucleus is populated from three alpha particles via the two alpha and three alpha resonance states in 8Be and 12C, followed by the gamma decay of the resonance state in 12C. In order to determine the enhanced reaction rate by the neutrons, it is necessary to measure the deexcitation cross section of the Hoyle state and neutrons. The low-energy alpha particles will be detected using an active target system MAIKo [3]. We report the proof-of-principle experiment using MAIKo to detect the low-energy alpha particles emitted from the Hoyle state and reconstruct the invariant mass of 12C
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