Speaker
Description
The $^{27}$Al(p,$\alpha$)$^{24}$Mg and $^{27}$Al(p,$\gamma$)$^{28}$Si reactions of Mg-Al cycle, active in stars during hydrogen burning stages, significantly affect the abundances of magnesium and aluminum isotopes with crucial impact on our understanding of Globular Cluster anomalies and presolar grain origins.
Current cross section uncertainties do not allow for an unambiguous conclusion about the occurrence of a Mg-Al cycle, given that the reaction rate ratio $\mathrm{B_{(p,\gamma)/(p,\alpha)}}$ may range from about 0.01 to 1000 at temperatures $T<50$. The main sources of present uncertainty are a number of key nuclear resonances for which only upper limits exist.
A new experimental campaign is ongoing at LUNA, located at the underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy) owing to a reduction of cosmic-ray background by several orders of magnitude. In the poster details will be provided on the new high sensitivity setup, the novel detection system for simultaneous detection of both channels, the characterization of targets and preliminary results on the sensitivity achieved.