Cross-section measurements at astrophysically relevant energies: The LUNA experiment

A. Formicola*, C. G. Bruno, A. Caciolli, F. Cavanna, R. Depalo, A. Di Leva, D. A. Scott, D. Trezzi, M. Aliotta, M. Anders, D. Bemmerer, C. Broggini, P. Corvisiero, Z. Elekes, Zs. Fueloep, G. Gervino, A. Guglielmetti, C. Gustavino, Gy. Gyuerky, G. ImbrianiM. Junker, R. Menegazzo, P. Prati, E. Somorjai, O. Straniero, F. Strieder, T. Szuecs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Accurate knowledge of thermonuclear reaction rates is important in understanding the generation of energy, the luminosity of neutrinos, and the synthesis of elements in stars. Cross-section measurements for quiescent stellar H-burning are mainly hampered by extremely low counting rate and cosmic background. The LUNA Collaboration has shown that, by going underground and by using the typical techniques of low background physics, it is possible to measure nuclear cross-sections down to the energy of the nucleosynthesis inside stars. This paper reports an overview of the experimental techniques adopted in underground nuclear astrophysics through a summary of the main recent results and achievements. The future developments of the LUNA experiment are also given. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)258-260
Number of pages3
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume742
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2014

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Direct cross-section
  • LUNA
  • Nuclear astrophysics
  • NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS
  • S-FACTOR
  • GAMMA)O-15
  • N-14(P

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