A high-resolution study of levels in the astrophysically important nucleus ${}^{26}$Mg and resulting updated level assignments

Abstract

The ${}^{22}$Ne($\hat{I}\pm ,n$)${}^{25}$Mg reaction is an important source of neutrons for the s-process. Due to the difficulty in directly measuring the cross section of this reaction and the competing ${}^{22}$Ne($\hat{I}\pm ,{\hat{I}}^3$)${}^{26}$Mg reaction, indirect methods are frequently used to try to instead calculate the relevant reaction rates. Uncertainty, however, persists in the number and properties of the pertinent excited states of ${}^{26}$Mg. In this paper, the results of proton and deuteron scattering from ${}^{26}$Mg are presented, giving a list of levels in ${}^{26}$Mg. In addition, level assignments in ${}^{26}$Mg are discussed, including some possible changes to the previously accepted assignments in ${}^{26}$Mg.

12 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Fixed missing reference and some index labelling in figures, fixed page break problem under table