Abstract
The ^{27}hbox {Al}(hbox {p},alpha )^{24}hbox {Mg} reaction, which drives the destruction of ^{27}Al and the production of ^{24}hbox {Mg} in stellar hydrogen burning, has been investigated via the Trojan Horse Method (THM), by measuring the ^2hbox {H}(^{27}hbox {Al},alpha ^{24}hbox {Mg})hbox {n} three-body reaction. The experiment covered a broad energy range (E_mathrm{c.m.}le ,1.5,hbox {MeV}), aiming to investigate those of interest for astrophysics. The results confirm the THM as a valuable technique for the experimental study of fusion reactions at very low energies and suggest the presence of a rich pattern of resonances in the energy region close to the Gamow window of stellar hydrogen burning (70–120 keV), with potential impact on astrophysics. To estimate such an impact a second run of the experiment is needed, since the background due the three-body reaction hampered to collect enough data to resolve the resonant structures and extract the reaction rate.
Highlights
Aluminum has only one stable isotope, with A = 27, but in astrophysics it is the unstable isotope with A = 26 that arouses the greatest interest in the scientific community
On the one side massive objects and supernova progenitors are the most likely candidates for this role, but the 26Al fossil abundances would instead indicate that the main producers of Al-rich dust are low- and intermediate-mass stars during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase [1,2,3]
The first clear detection of 1.808 MeV gamma lines from the bulge of the galaxy was made by the HEAO-3 satellite in 1984 [4], while the first mapping of the 26Al emission in the Milky Way was due to the COMPTEL satellite [5]
Summary
The abundances of magnesium isotopes in the interstellar medium are considered a powerful probe of star formation processes over cosmological timescales This consideration is based on the assumption that the main contribution of 24Mg comes from massive stars, whereas 25Mg and 26Mg come from intermediate mass objects [15], but this scenario could be modified, strengthened or weakened by more accurate measurements of proton capture reactions on Al and Mg isotopes in the energy range of stellar nucleosynthesis. It is worth noting that if resonances of the 27Al(p, α)24Mg reaction will be found at low energies, the contribution of low-mass-star H-burning to the Al nucleosynthesis should be revised
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