Measurement of the 13C(α,n)16O reaction with the Trojan horse method: Focus on the sub threshold resonance at −3 keV

Abstract

The 13C(α,n)16O reaction is the neutron source of the main component of the s-process. The astrophysical S(E)-factor is dominated by the −3 keV sub-threshold resonance due to the 6.356 MeV level in 17O. Its contribution is still controversial as extrapolations, e.g., through R-matrix calculations, and indirect techniques, such as the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC), yield inconsistent results. Therefore, we have applied the Trojan Horse Method (THM) to the 13C(6Li,n16O)d reaction to measure its contribution. For the first time, the ANC for the 6.356 MeV level has been deduced through the THM, allowing to attain an unprecedented accuracy. Though a larger ANC for the 6.356 MeV level is measured, our experimental S(E) factor agrees with the most recent extrapolation in the literature in the 140-230 keV energy interval, the accuracy being greatly enhanced thanks to this innovative approach, merging together two well establish indirect techniques, namely, the THM and the ANC.