Related papers: LUNA: a Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astroph…
Nuclear astrophysics strives for a comprehensive picture of the nuclear reactions responsible for synthesizing the chemical elements and for powering the stellar evolution engine. Deep underground in the Gran Sasso laboratory the cross…
For millennia, mankind has been fascinated by the marvel of the starry night sky. Yet, a proper scientific understanding of how stars form, shine, and die is a relatively recent achievement, made possible by the interplay of different…
The essential ingredients of nuclear astrophysics are the thermonuclear reactions which shape the life and death of stars and which are responsible for the synthesis of the chemical elements in the Universe. Deep underground in the Gran…
The goal of nuclear astrophysics is to measure cross sections of nuclear physics reactions of interest in astrophysics. At stars temperatures, these cross sections are very low due to the suppression of the Coulomb barrier. Cosmic ray…
Extremely low background experiments to measure key nuclear reaction cross sections of astrophysical interest are conducted at the world's deepest underground laboratory, the Jingping Underground laboratory for Nuclear Astrophysics (JUNA).…
Nuclear reaction cross sections are essential ingredients to predict the evolution of AGB stars and understand their impact on the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. Unfortunately, the cross sections of the reactions involved are often very…
Nuclear reactions are responsible for the chemical evolution of stars, galaxies and the Universe. Unfortunately, at temperatures of interest for nuclear astrophysics, the cross-sections of the thermonuclear reactions are in the…
The LUNA (Laboratory Underground for Nuclear Astrophysics) facility has been designed to study nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. It is located deep underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Italy. Two electrostatic…
Reactions between atomic nuclei are measured in great detail in terrestrial laboratory experiments; transferring and extrapolating this knowledge to how the same reactions act within cosmic environments presents major challenges.…
This review focuses on nuclear reactions in astrophysics and, more specifically, on reactions with light ions (nucleons and alpha particles) proceeding via the strong interaction. It is intended to present the basic definitions essential…
Ultra-sensitive in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy studies for nuclear astrophysics are performed at the LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics) 400 kV accelerator, deep underground in Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory. By virtue of…
Neutron stars are astrophysical laboratories of many extremes of physics. Their rich phenomenology provides insights into the state and composition of matter at densities which cannot be reached in terrestrial experiments. Since the core of…
The chemical evolution of the Universe and several phases of the stellar life are regulated by minute nuclear reactions. The key point for each of these reactions is the value of cross sections at the energies at which they take place in…
I describe in very simple terms the theoretical tools needed to investigate ultra-peripheral nuclear reactions for nuclear astrophysics purposes. For a more detailed account, see arXiv:0908.4307.
We observe photons and neutrinos from stars. Based on these observations, complemented by measurements of cosmic rays energies and composition, we have been able to constrain several models for the Big Bang and for stellar evolution. But…
The origin of the elements is a fascinating question that scientists have been trying to answer for the last seven decades. The formation of light elements in the primordial universe and heavier elements in astrophysical sources occurs…
Fusion reactions with light nuclei play an essential role in understanding the energy production, the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements and the evolution of massive stars. The measurement of key fusion reactions at stellar energies is…
Nuclear physics has a long and productive history of application to astrophysics which continues today. Advances in the accuracy and breadth of astrophysical data and theory drive the need for better experimental and theoretical…
LUNA, Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics at Gran Sasso, is measuring fusion cross sections down to the energy of the nucleosynthesis inside stars. Outstanding results obtained up to now are the cross-section measurements within…
The field of nuclear astrophysics is devoted to the study of the creation of the chemical elements. By nature, it is deeply intertwined with the physics of the Sun. The nuclear reactions of the proton-proton cycle of hydrogen burning,…