Nova reaction rates and experiments

Abstract

Oxygen–neon novae form a subset of classical novae events known to freshly synthesize nuclei up to mass number A ≲ 40 . Because several gamma-ray emitters lie in this mass range, these novae are also interesting candidates for gamma-ray astronomy. The properties of excited states within those nuclei in this mass region play a critical role in determining the resonant ( p , γ ) reaction rates, themselves, largely unknown for the unstable nuclei. We describe herein a new Doppler shift lifetime facility at the Maier–Leibnitz tandem laboratory, Technische Universität München, with which we will map out important resonant ( p , γ ) nova reaction rates.