Measurement of the 60Fe(n, gamma)61Fe Cross Section at Stellar Temperatures.
Observations of galactic gamma-ray activity have challenged the current understanding of nucleosynthesis in massive stars. Recent measurements of (60)Fe abundances relative to ;{26}Al;{g} have underscored the need for accurate nuclear information concerning the stellar production of (60)Fe. In light of this motivation, a first measurement of the stellar (60)Fe(n, gamma)(61)Fe cross section, the predominant destruction mechanism of (60)Fe, has been performed by activation at the Karlsruhe Van de Graaff accelerator. Results show a Maxwellian averaged cross section at kT = 25 keV of 9.9 +/-_{1.4(stat)};{2.8(syst)}mbarn, a significant reduction in uncertainty with respect to existing theoretical discrepancies. This result will serve to significantly constrain models of (60)Fe nucleosynthesis in massive stars.
Uberseder
E
E
University of Notre Dame, Department of Physics, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.
Reifarth
R
R
Schumann
D
D
Dillmann
I
I
Pardo
C Domingo
CD
Görres
J
J
Heil
M
M
Käppeler
F
F
Marganiec
J
J
Neuhausen
J
J
Pignatari
M
M
Voss
F
F
Walter
S
S
Wiescher
M
M