Speaker
Description
$^{22}$Ne($\alpha$,n)$^{25}$Mg is of high importance for our understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis processes. Knowledge of its low energy cross section in the region of the neutron threshold is crucial for the description of the s process, branch point populations and more. Indirect probes of near threshold states have delivered a swatch of data, but many open questions remain on the exact strengths of $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$,n)$^{25}$Mg. Direct measurements have reached their limit in surface laboratories, at energies above the Gamow window of most stellar scenario.
Over the last years, a great effort to directly measure $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$,n)$^{25}$Mg in the threshold energy region has been undertaken at the deep underground Gran Sasso National laboratory of the INFN, funded by the ERC and within the framework of the LUNA collaboration. We will report on the preliminary results of the measurement campaign, which concluded in December 2025.