Nuclear Level Density and $γ$-ray Strength Function of $^{67}\mathrm{Ni}$ and the impact on the i-process

Abstract

Proton-$γ$ coincidences from $(\mathrm{d},\mathrm{p})$ reactions between a $^{66}\mathrm{Ni}$ beam and a deuterated polyethylene target have been analyzed with the inverse-Oslo method to find the nuclear level density (NLD) and $γ$-ray strength function ($γ$SF) of $^{67}\mathrm{Ni}$. The $^{66}\mathrm{Ni}(n,γ)$ capture cross section has been calculated using the Hauser-Feshbach model in TALYS using the measured NLD and $γ$SF as constraints. The results confirm that the $^{66}\mathrm{Ni}(n,γ)$ reaction acts as a bottleneck when relying on one-zone nucleosynthesis calculations. However, the impact of this reaction is strongly dampened in multi-zone models of low-metallicity AGB stars experiencing i-process nucleosynthesis.

Submitted to Phys. Rev. C