Abstract
We present the first direct measurement of an astrophysical reaction using a radioactive beam of isomeric nuclei. In particular, we have measured the strength of the key 447-keV resonance in the reaction to be and find that this resonance dominates the thermally averaged reaction rate for temperatures between 0.3 and 2.5 GK. This work represents a critical development in resolving one of the longest standing issues in nuclear astrophysics research, relating to the measurement of proton capture reactions on excited quantum levels, and offers unique insight into the destruction of isomeric in astrophysical plasmas.
- Received 7 October 2021
- Revised 10 December 2021
- Accepted 24 December 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.042701
© 2022 American Physical Society