n_TOF Collaboration(Guerrero, C. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., & Tain, J. L. (2020). Neutron Capture on the s-Process Branching Point Tm-171 via Time-of-Flight and Activation. Phys. Rev. Lett., 125(14), 142701–8pp.
Abstract: The neutron capture cross sections of several unstable nuclides acting as branching points in the s process are crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis studies. The unstable Tm-171 (t(1/2) = 1.92 yr) is part of the branching around mass A similar to 170 but its neutron capture cross section as a function of the neutron energy is not known to date. In this work, following the production for the first time of more than 5 mg of Tm-171 at the high-flux reactor Institut Laue-Langevin in France, a sample was produced at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. Two complementary experiments were carried out at the neutron time-of-flight facility (nTOF) at CERN in Switzerland and at the SARAF liquid lithium target facility at Soreq Nuclear Research Center in Israel by time of flight and activation, respectively. The result of the time -of-flight experiment consists of the first ever set of resonance parameters and the corresponding average resonance parameters, allowing us to make an estimation of the Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) by extrapolation. The activation measurement provides a direct and more precise measurement of the MACS at 30 keV: 384 (40) mb, with which the estimation from the nTOF data agree at the limit of 1 standard deviation. This value is 2.6 times lower than the JEFF-3.3 and ENDF/B-VIII evaluations, 25% lower than that of the Bao et al. compilation, and 1.6 times larger than the value recommended in the KAlloNiS (v1) database, based on the only previous experiment. Our result affects the nucleosynthesis at the A similar to 170 branching, namely, the Yb-171 abundance increases in the material lost by asymptotic giant branch stars, providing a better match to the available pre-solar SiC grain measurements compared to the calculations based on the current JEFF-3.3 model-based evaluation.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Gawlik, A. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2019). Measurement of the Ge-70(n, gamma) cross section up to 300 keV at the CERN n_TOF facility. Phys. Rev. C, 100(4), 045804–10pp.
Abstract: Neutron capture data on intermediate mass nuclei are of key importance to nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes, which occurs in massive stars. The (n,gamma) cross section on Ge-70, which is mainly produced in the s process, was measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN. Resonance capture kernels were determined up to 40 keV neutron energy and average cross sections up to 300 keV. Stellar cross sections were calculated from kT = 5 keV to kT = 100 keV and are in very good agreement with a previous measurement by Walter and Beer (1985) and recent evaluations. Average cross sections are in agreement with Walter and Beer (1985) over most of the neutron energy range covered, while they are systematically smaller for neutron energies above 150 keV. We have calculated isotopic abundances produced in s-process environments in a 25 solar mass star for two initial metallicities (below solar and close to solar). While the low metallicity model reproduces best the solar system germanium isotopic abundances, the close to solar model shows a good global match to solar system abundances in the range of mass numbers A = 60-80.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Gawlik, A. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2021). Radiative Neutron Capture Cross-Section Measurement of Ge Isotopes at n_TOF CERN Facility and Its Importance for Stellar Nucleosynthesis. Acta Phys. Pol. A, 139(4), 383–388.
Abstract: This manuscript summarizes the results of radiative neutron capture cross-section measurements on two stable germanium isotopes, Ge-70 and Ge-73. Experiments were performed at the n_TOF facility at CERN via the time-of-flight technique, over a wide neutron energy range, for all stable germanium isotopes (70,72,73,74, and 76). Results for Ge-70 [Phys. Rev. C 100, 045804 (2019)] and Ge-73 [Phys. Lett. B 790, 458 (2019)] are already published. In the field of nuclear structure, such measurements allow to study excited levels close to the neutron binding energy and to obtain information on nuclear properties. In stellar nucleosynthesis research, neutron induced reactions on germanium are of importance for nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow neutron capture processes.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Gawlik, A. et al), Domingo-Pardo, C., Tain, J. L., & Tarifeño-Saldivia, A. (2021). Measurement of the Ge-76(n, gamma) cross section at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Phys. Rev. C, 104(4), 044610–7pp.
Abstract: The Ge-76(n, gamma) reaction has been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN via the time-of-flight technique. Neutron capture cross sections on Ge-76 are of interest to a variety of low-background experiments, such as neutrinoless double beta decay searches, and to nuclear astrophysics. We have determined resonance capture kernels up to 52 keV neutron energy and used the new data to calculate Maxwellian-averaged neutron capture cross sections for k(B)T values of 5 to 100 keV.
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n_TOF Collaboration(Domingo-Pardo, C. et al), Babiano-Suarez, V., Balibrea-Correa, J., Caballero, L., Ladarescu, I., Lerendegui-Marco, J., et al. (2023). Advances and new ideas for neutron-capture astrophysics experiments at CERN n_TOF. Eur. Phys. J. A, 59(1), 8–11pp.
Abstract: This article presents a few selected developments and future ideas related to the measurement of (n, gamma ) data of astrophysical interest at CERN n_TOF. The MC-aided analysis methodology for the use of low-efficiency radiation detectors in time-of-flight neutron-capture measurements is discussed, with particular emphasis on the systematic accuracy. Several recent instrumental advances are also presented, such as the development of total-energy detectors with gamma- ray imaging capability for background suppression, and the development of an array of small-volume organic scintilla tors aimed at exploiting the high instantaneous neutron-flux of EAR2. Finally, astrophysics prospects related to the intermediate i neutron-capture process of nucleosynthesis are discussed in the context of the new NEAR activation area.
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