title: Experimental Neutron Capture Rate Constraint Far from Stability.
abstract: Nuclear reactions where an exotic nucleus captures a neutron are critical for a wide variety of applications, from energy production and national security, to astrophysical processes, and nucleosynthesis. Neutron capture rates are well constrained near stable isotopes where experimental data are available; however, moving far from the valley of stability, uncertainties grow by orders of magnitude. This is due to the complete lack of experimental constraints, as the direct measurement of a neutron-capture reaction on a short-lived nucleus is extremely challenging. Here, we report on the first experimental extraction of a neutron capture reaction rate on ^{69}Ni, a nucleus that is five neutrons away from the last stable isotope of Ni. The implications of this measurement on nucleosynthesis around mass 70 are discussed, and the impact of similar future measurements on the understanding of the origin of the heavy elements in the cosmos is presented.
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Liddick
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spyrou
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Crider
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Naqvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guttormsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.|Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mumpower
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Surman
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perdikakis
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550-9234, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Bleuel
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crespo Campo
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dombos
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mosby
authors.affiliation: Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikas
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Prokop
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Renstrom
authors.affiliation: IFIC, CSIC-Universidad de Valencia, 46071 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siem
authors.affiliation: National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.|Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Quinn