LUNA: Nuclear Astrophysics Deep Underground

Abstract

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 sections of the key reactions of the proton-proton chain and of the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle have been measured right down to the energies of astrophysical interest. The salient features of underground nuclear astrophysics are summarized here. The main results obtained by LUNA in the last twenty years are reviewed, and their influence on the comprehension of the properties of the neutrino, of the Sun and of the Universe itself are discussed. Future directions of underground nuclear astrophysics towards the study of helium and carbon burning and of stellar neutron sources in stars are pointed out.

Invited review, submitted to Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Science

References in corpus (15)

• Nucleosynthesis and Remnants in Massive Stars of Solar Metallicity
• Study of the 12C+12C fusion reactions near the Gamow energy
• Activation measurement of the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section at low energy
• Astrophysical S-factor of the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be reaction measured at low energy via prompt and delayed gamma detection
• First measurement of the 14N(p,gamma)15O cross section down to 70 keV
• CN-Cycle Solar Neutrinos and Sun's Primordial Core Metalicity
• Enhancement of the Deuteron-Fusion Reactions in Metals and its Experimental Implications
• 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section at low energies
• The 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be S-factor at solar energies: the prompt gamma experiment at LUNA
• On the Sensitivity of Massive Star Nucleosynthesis and Evolution to Solar Abundances and to Uncertainties in Helium Burning Reaction Rates
• Ultra-sensitive in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy for nuclear astrophysics at LUNA
• Feasibility of low energy radiative capture experiments at the LUNA underground accelerator facility
• Lifetime measurement of the 6792 keV state in 15O, important for the astrophysical S factor extrapolation in 14N(p,g)15O
• Exploring Lifetime Effects in Femtoscopy
• CN Neutrinos and the Sun's Primordial Core Metalicity

Cited by in corpus (1)

• The 14N(p,gamma)15O reaction studied with a composite germanium detector