Search for ²²Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes

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Fougeres, Chloe ; Santos, Francois de Oliveira ; Jose, Jordi ; Michelagnoli, Caterina ; Clement, Emmanuel ; Kim, Yung Hee ; Lemasson, Antoine ; Guimaraes, Valdir ; Barrientos, Diego ; Bemmerer, Daniel ; Benzoni, Giovanna ; Boston, Andrew J. ; Bottger, Roman ; Boulay, Florent ; Bracco, Angela ; Celikovic, Igor ; Cederwall, Bo ; Ciemala, Michal ; Delafosse, Clement ; Domingo-Pardo, Cesar ; Dudouet, Jeremie ; Eberth, Juergen ; Fulop, Zsolt ; Gonzalez, Vicente ; Gottardo, Andrea ; Goupil, Johan ; Hess, Herbert ; Jungclaus, Andrea ; Kaskas, Ayse ; Korichi, Amel ; Lenzi, Silvia M. ; Leoni, Silvia ; Li, Hongjie ; Ljungvall, Joa ; Lopez-Martens, Araceli ; Menegazzo, Roberto ; Mengoni, Daniele ; Million, Benedicte ; Mrazek, Jaromir ; Napoli, Daniel R. ; Navin, Alahari ; Nyberg, Johan ; Podolyak, Zsolt ; Pullia, Alberto ; Quintana, Begona ; Ralet, Damien ; Redon, Nadine ; Reiter, Peter ; Rezynkina, Kseniia ; Saillant, Frederic ; Salsac, Marie-Delphine ; Sanchez-Benitez, Angel M. ; Sanchis, Enrique ; Senyigit, Menekse ; Siciliano, Marco ; Smirnova, Nadezda A. ; Sohler, Dorottya ; Stanoiu, Mihai ; Theisen, Christophe ; Valiente-Dobon, Jose J. ; Ujic, Predrag ; Zielinska, Magdalena

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS; v. 14, n. 1, p. 7-pg., 2023-09-05.

Abstract

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of Al-26 and Na-22. While ? rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, Na-22 remains untraceable. Its half-life (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV ?-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of its nucleosynthesis. The Na-22(p, ?)Mg-23 reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of Na-22 ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in Mg-23. Here, we propose a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this method to the study of the Mg-23 states, places strong limits on the amount of Na-22 produced in novae and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories. The authors report a particle-particle correlation and velocity-difference profile method to measure nuclear lifetime. The results obtained for excited states of 23Mg are used to constrain the production of 22Na in the astrophysical novae explosions. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/02863-4 - Exotic nuclei and nuclear astrophysics investigation by elastic scattering and direct reactions
• Grantee: Valdir Guimarães
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants