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The indoor radon concentration level has been monitored in selected locations in four European countries (Iceland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden) during a yearlong measurement campaign using time-integrated passive radon dosimeters containing CR-39 track detectors. The measurements were carried out in private houses and public buildings like schools, for an exposure time of up to 6 months for each detector. Experimental data shows a great variation between different geographic areas, and often the average levels are over the acceptable radon limit of 300 Bq/m3recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). To investigate a relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, estimating the cumulative levels of exposure to indoor radon for an individual or population is necessary. We analyse the data sets and investigate the factors influencing indoor radon concentrations in order to determine the best use of the experimental information. The results show that the variables associated with indoor radon levels are strictly linked to the soil geology. Analyzing the data sets enables improved assessment of radon exposure in a given area. The average absorption effective dose equivalent for a person is computed, and the risk of lung cancer per year is evaluated. Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2021-02-04-01 Full Text: PDF

The n_TOF neutron time-of-flight facility at CERN is used for nuclear data measurements. The n_TOF Collaboration works closely with the Nuclear Reaction Data Centres (NRDC) network to disseminate the experimental data through the international EXFOR library. In addition, the Collaboration helps integrate the results in the evaluated library projects. The present contribution describes the dissemination status of n_TOF results, their impact on evaluated libraries and ongoing efforts to provide n_TOF resonance parameters in ENDF-6 format for further use by evaluation projects.

One of the main neutron sources for the astrophysical s process is the reaction ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O, taking place in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars at temperatures around 90 MK. To model the nucleosynthesis during this process the reaction cross section needs to be known in the 150-230 keV energy window (Gamow peak). At these sub-Coulomb energies, cross section direct measurements are severely affected by the low event rate, making us rely on input from indirect methods and extrapolations from higher-energy direct data. This leads to an uncertainty in the cross section at the relevant energies too high to reliably constrain the nuclear physics input to s-process calculations. We present the results from a new deep-underground measurement of ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O, covering the energy range 230-300 keV, with drastically reduced uncertainties over previous measurements and for the first time providing data directly inside the s-process Gamow peak. Selected stellar models have been computed to estimate the impact of our revised reaction rate. For stars of nearly solar composition, we find sizeable variations of some isotopes, whose production is influenced by the activation of close-by branching points that are sensitive to the neutron density, in particular, the two radioactive nuclei ^{60}Fe and ^{205}Pb, as well as ^{152}Gd.

Background: Shell hydrogen burning during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase through the oxygen isotopes has been indicated as a key process that is needed to understand the observed O 18 / O 16 relative abundance in presolar grains and in stellar atmospheres. This ratio is strongly influenced by the relative strengths of the reactions O 18 ( p , α ) N 15 and O 18 ( p , γ ) F 19 in low-mass AGB stars. While the former channel has been the focus of a large number of measurements, the ( p , γ ) reaction path has only recently received some attention and its stellar reaction rate over a wide temperature range rests on only one measurement. Purpose: Our aim is the direct measurement of states in F 19 as populated through the reaction O 18 ( p , γ ) F 19 to better determine their influence on the astrophysical reaction rate, and more generally to improve the understanding of the nuclear structure of F 19 .Method: Branchings and resonance strengths were measured in the proton energy range E p lab = 150 – 400 keV , using a high-purity germanium detector inside a massive lead shield. The measurement took place in the ultra-low-background environment of the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, leading to a highly increased sensitivity. Results: The uncertainty of the γ branchings and strengths was improved for all four resonances in the studied energy range; many new transitions were observed in the case of the 334 keV resonance, and individual γ decays of the 215 keV resonance were measured for the first time. In addition a number of transitions to intermediate states that decay through α emission were identified. The strengths of the observed resonances are generally in agreement with literature values. Conclusions: Our measurements substantially confirm previous determinations of the relevant resonance strengths. Therefore the O 18 ( p , γ ) F 19 reaction rate does not change with respect to the reaction rate reported in the compilations commonly adopted in the extant computations of red-giant branch and AGB stellar models. Nevertheless, our measurements definitely exclude a nonstandard scenario for the fluorine nucleosynthesis and a nuclear physics solution for the O 18 depletion observed in Group 2 oxygen-rich stardust grains.

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 started in Wuhan, China, and is now a pandemic. An understanding of the prevalence and contagiousness of the disease, and of whether the strategies used to curb it to date have been successful, is important to implement future containment measures. A widely used way to break down the spread of SARS-CoV-2, as part of the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), is to adopt strong social distancing policies. Cogne (Italy) is an isolated alpine village served by a single access road: a rare and ideal socio-geographic framework for studying the dynamics of viral shedding. The Municipality of Cogne imposed strict lockdown rules from March 4, 2020 up to May 18, 2020. This first wave of the pandemic impressed by the extremely low impact of the SARS-CoV-2 on the inhabitants. Starting from October 2020 up to the end of December, when the second wave hit Italy and Cogne territory, heavier effects were observed. In order to cast light on the effectiveness of the adopted strategy 74,5% of the local population underwent a blood screening to detect IgM and IgG antibodies and after six months all the people tested positive were again investigated to establish the longitudinal changes in antibodies level. The main topic of the present observational study is the comparison of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the March 2020 lockdown vs the October 2020 lockdown. Emphasis is put on the usefulness of the early and strict lockdown tool to contain the pandemic. Moreover a rare and interesting case of secondary infection has been identified and here reported. Funding Statement: The project was budgeted under the contract COGNE-COVID by the Municipality of Cogne. The funder granted access at acquisition of the results of serological tests and nasopharyngeal swabs carried out in Cogne between March and December 2020, but played no part in the design, data analysis and writing. The two authors are responsible for the decision to submit for publication. Declaration of Interests: Both authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Aosta Valley (I). All experimental and sensible data treatment were performed in agreement with the relevant guidelines and regulations issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE Recommendations).

Direct measurements of reaction cross-sections at astrophysical energies often require the use of solid targets able to withstand high ion beam currents for extended periods of time. Thus, monitoring target thickness, isotopic composition, and target stoichiometry during data taking is critical to account for possible target modifications and to reduce uncertainties in the final cross-section results. A common technique used for these purposes is the Nuclear Resonant Reaction Analysis (NRRA), which however requires that a narrow resonance be available inside the dynamic range of the accelerator used. In cases when this is not possible, as for example the $$^{13}\hbox {C}(\alpha ,\hbox {n})^{16}\hbox {O}$$ reaction recently studied at low energies at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) in Italy, alternative approaches must be found. Here, we present a new application of the shape analysis of primary $$\gamma $$ rays emitted by the $$^{13}\hbox {C}(\hbox {p},\gamma )^{14}\hbox {N}$$ radiative capture reaction. This approach was used to monitor $$^{13}\hbox {C}$$ target degradation in situ during the $$^{13}\hbox {C}(\alpha ,\hbox {n})^{16}\hbox {O}$$ data taking campaign. The results obtained are in agreement with evaluations subsequently performed at Atomki (Hungary) using the NRRA method. A preliminary application for the extraction of the $$^{13}\hbox {C}(\alpha ,\hbox {n})^{16}\hbox {O}$$ reaction cross-section at one beam energy is also reported.

We introduce the LUNA neutron detector array developed for the investigation of the 13C( α , n )16O reaction towards its astrophysical s -process Gamow peak in the low-background environment of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). Eighteen 3He counters are arranged in two different configurations (in a vertical and a horizontal orientation) to optimize neutron detection efficiency, target handling and target cooling over the investigated energy range E α , lab = 300 − 400 keV (E n = 2 . 2 − 2 . 6 MeV in emitted neutron energy). As a result of the deep underground location, the passive shielding of the setup and active background suppression using pulse shape discrimination, we reached a total background rate of 1 . 23 ± 0 . 12 counts/hour. This resulted in an improvement of two orders of magnitude over the state of the art allowing a direct measurement of the 13C( α , n )16O cross-section down to E α , lab = 300 keV. The absolute neutron detection efficiency of the setup was determined using the 51V(p,n)51Cr reaction and an AmBe radioactive source, and completed with a Geant4 simulation. We determined a (34 ± 3)% and (38 ± 3)% detection efficiency for the vertical and horizontal configurations, respectively, for E n = 2 . 4 MeV neutrons.

We study the existence of thermodynamic instabilities in the nuclear equation of state relative to the high density regime reached in the central core of compact stars. In the framework of a relativistic mean-field theory, we analyze the asymmetric nuclear properties in beta-equilibrium, including hyperons and Delta-isobar degrees of freedom. We investigate a finite density phase transition characterized by pure hadronic matter with the presence of mechanical instability (relative to the fluctuation of baryon number) and of chemical-diffusive instability (relative to the fluctuation of electric charge concentration). We find that, in the presence of thermodynamic instabilities, two hadronic phases with different values of electric charge content may coexist, with several phenomenological consequences in the physics of compact stars.

The ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na reaction, part of the neon-sodium cycle of hydrogen burning, may explain the observed anticorrelation between sodium and oxygen abundances in globular cluster stars. Its rate is controlled by a number of low-energy resonances and a slowly varying nonresonant component. Three new resonances at E_{p}=156.2, 189.5, and 259.7 keV have recently been observed and confirmed. However, significant uncertainty on the reaction rate remains due to the nonresonant process and to two suggested resonances at E_{p}=71 and 105 keV. Here, new ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na data with high statistics and low background are reported. Stringent upper limits of 6×10^{-11} and 7×10^{-11} eV (90% confidence level), respectively, are placed on the two suggested resonances. In addition, the off-resonant S factor has been measured at unprecedented low energy, constraining the contributions from a subthreshold resonance and the direct capture process. As a result, at a temperature of 0.1 GK the error bar of the ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na rate is now reduced by 3 orders of magnitude.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.252501.

The BGO-OD experiment at the ELSA accelerator facility uses an energy tagged bremstrahlung photon beam to investigate the excitation spectrum of the nucleon. The setup consists of a highly segmented BGO calorimeter surrounding the target, with a particle tracking magnetic spectrometer at forward angles. BGO-OD is ideal for investigating the photoproduction of hadrons of non-zero strangeness. The high momentum resolution at forward angles covers a kinematic region where t-channel exchange mechanisms play a dominant role. Access to this low momentum transfer region also allows the investigation of degrees of freedom not derived from constituent quark models, for example, the role of (vector) meson - baryon interactions and dynamically generated states in photoproduction reactions. Data taking for the first part of an extensive physics programme is complete and preliminary results and ongoing analysis are presented. (Less)

To date, the effects of electromagnetic fields on cell metabolism have been overlooked. The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) over mitochondrial metabolism and the consequent impact on cancer cell growth.The effects of ELF-EMF on cancer growth were investigated in several human cancer cell lines by crystal violet assay. The modulation of mitochondrial activity was assessed by cytofluorimetric evaluation of membrane potential and by real-time quantification of mitochondrial transcription. Moreover the expression of several mitochondrial proteins and their levels in the organelle were evaluated.The long-term exposure to ELF-EMF reduced the proliferation of several cancer cell lines and the effect was associated to an increased mitochondrial activity without evident changes in ATP levels. The results of our experiments excluded a transcriptional modulation of mitochondrial respiratory complexes, rather suggesting that ELF-EMF increased the energy demand. The altered mitochondrial metabolism led to changes in mitochondrial protein profile. In fact we found a downregulated expression of mitochondrial phospho-ERK, p53 and cytochrome c.The results of the present study indicate that ELF-EMF can negatively modulate cancer cell growth increasing respiratory activity of cells and altering mitochondrial protein expression.

The non-linear Fokker-Planck equation or Kolmogorov forward equation is currently successfully applied for deep analysis of irreversibility and it gives an excellent approximation near the free energy minimum, just as Boltzmann’s definition of entropy follows from finding the maximum entropy state. A connection to Fokker-Planck dynamics and the free energy functional is presented and discussed—this approach has been particularly successful to deal with metastability. We focus our attention on investigating and discussing the fundamental role of dissipation analysis in metastable systems. The major novelty of our approach is that the obtained results enable us to reveal an appealing, and previously unexplored relationship between Fokker-Planck equation and the associated free energy functional. Namely, we point out that the dynamics may be regarded as a gradient flux, or a steepest descent, for the free energy.

Accurate knowledge of thermonuclear reaction rates is important in understanding the generation of energy, the luminosity of neutrinos, and the synthesis of elements in stars. Cross-section measurements for quiescent stellar H-burning are mainly hampered by extremely low counting rate and cosmic background. The LUNA Collaboration has shown that, by going underground and by using the typical techniques of low background physics, it is possible to measure nuclear cross-sections down to the energy of the nucleosynthesis inside stars. This paper reports an overview of the experimental techniques adopted in underground nuclear astrophysics through a summary of the main recent results and achievements. The future developments of the LUNA experiment are also given. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The astrophysical S-factor of 14N(p,gamma)15O has been measured for effective center-of-mass energies between E_eff = 119 and 367 keV at the LUNA facility using TiN solid targets and Ge detectors. The data are in good agreement with previous and recent work at overlapping energies. R-matrix analysis reveals that due to the complex level structure of 15O the extrapolated S(0) value is model dependent and calls for additional experimental efforts to reduce the present uncertainty in S(0) to a level of a few percent as required by astrophysical calculations., Comment: Eur. Phys. J. A, accepted. 17 pages, 15 figures

The transition between the Main Sequence and the Red Giant Branch in low mass stars is powered by the onset of the CNO burning, whose bottleneck is the $^{14}$N(p,$\gamma)^{15}$O. The LUNA collaboration has recently improved the low energy measurements of the cross section of this key reaction. We analyse the impact of the revised reaction rate on the estimate of the Globular Clusters ages, as derived from the turnoff luminosity. We found that the age of the oldest Globulars should be increased by about 0.7-1 Gyr with respect to the current estimates.

We investigate the impact of the new LUNA rate for the nuclear reaction Ne-22(p, gamma) Na-23 on the chemical ejecta of intermediate-mass stars, with particular focus on the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars that experience hot-bottom burning. To this aim, we use the PARSEC and COLIBRI codes to compute the complete evolution, from the premain sequence up to the termination of the TP-AGB phase, of a set of stellar models with initial masses in the range 3.0-6.0M(circle dot) and metallicities Z(i) = 0.0005, 0.006 and 0.014. We find that the new LUNA measures have much reduced the nuclear uncertainties of the Ne-22 and Na-23 AGB ejecta that drop from factors of similar or equal to 10 to only a factor of few for the lowest metallicity models. Relying on the most recent estimations for the destruction rate of Na-23, the uncertainties that still affect the Ne-22 and Na-23 AGB ejecta are mainly dominated by the evolutionary aspects (efficiency of mass-loss, third dredge-up, convection). Finally, we discuss how the LUNA results impact on the hypothesis that invokes massive AGB stars as the main agents of the observed O-Na anticorrelation in Galactic globular clusters. We derive quantitative indications on the efficiencies of key physical processes (mass-loss, third dredgeup, sodium destruction) in order to simultaneously reproduce both the Na-rich, O-poor extreme of the anticorrelation and the observational constraints on the CNO abundance. Results for the corresponding chemical ejecta are made publicly available.

For the study of astrophysically relevant capture reactions in the underground laboratory LUNA a newsetup of high sensitivity has been implemented. The setup includes a windowless gas target, a 4p BGO summing crystal, and beam calorimeters. The setup has been recently used to measure the d(p,g) 3 He cross-section for the first time within its solar Gamowpeak, i.e. dow n to 2.5 keV c.m. energy. The features of the optimized setup are described. r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The authors perform a direct measurement of radiative proton capture on ${}^{22}$Ne at the LUNA underground laboratory whose low background allows unprecedented sensitivity. They report detailed experimental information for three recently observed new resonances in the ${}^{22}$Ne($p$,$\ensuremath{\gamma}$)${}^{23}$Na reaction which is the most uncertain process in the neon-sodium cycle of stellar hydrogen burning. At temperatures relevant for nucleosynthesis in asymptotic giant branch stars and classical novae, its uncertainty is mainly due to a large number of predicted but hitherto unobserved resonances at low energy. The updated thermonuclear reaction rate is significantly higher than previous evaluations at temperatures below 0.3 GK.

The ^{17}O(p,α)^{14}N reaction plays a key role in various astrophysical scenarios, from asymptotic giant branch stars to classical novae. It affects the synthesis of rare isotopes such as ^{17}O and ^{18}F, which can provide constraints on astrophysical models. A new direct determination of the E_{R}=64.5 keV resonance strength performed at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) accelerator has led to the most accurate value to date ωγ=10.0±1.4_{stat}±0.7_{syst} neV, thanks to a significant background reduction underground and generally improved experimental conditions. The (bare) proton partial width of the corresponding state at E_{x}=5672 keV in ^{18}F is Γ_{p}=35±5_{stat}±3_{syst} neV. This width is about a factor of 2 higher than previously estimated, thus leading to a factor of 2 increase in the ^{17}O(p, α)^{14}N reaction rate at astrophysical temperatures relevant to shell hydrogen burning in red giant and asymptotic giant branch stars. The new rate implies lower ^{17}O/^{16}O ratios, with important implications on the interpretation of astrophysical observables from these stars.

The new BGO-OD experiment at the electron accelerator ELSA, of the University of Bonn, is designed to study the reaction dynamics of nucleon excitations in meson photoproduction. It consists of a central BGO calorimeter with a magnetic spectrometer in forward direction. The physics programme includes the measurement of polarisation observables using linearly and circularly polarised photon beams. Linear polarisation is obtained by coherent bremsstrahlung off a diamond crystal, and circular polarisation is obtained via bremsstrahlung from longitudinally polarised electrons. The degree of linear polarisation is determined from the bremsstrahlung spectrum itself. To determine the polarisation of the circularly polarised photon beam, the polarisation of the electron beam is measured by a Moller polarimeter. As a preliminary consistency check, the (linear) polarisation observable, Σ, was compared to world data for π^0 and η photoproduction. To determine the degree of circular polarisation, a Moller polarimeter was setup and first measurements of the electron beam polarisation performed.

The absolute cross section σ ( E ) for the radiative capture reaction 7 Be(p, γ ) 8 B at the center-of-mass energies E =0.32 to 2.61 MeV has been measured using a 7 Be target deposited on a Cu backing and observing the β -delayed α -particles from 8 B. The backing causes a loss of less than 1% of the 8 B residual nuclides. The resulting astrophysical S ( E ) factor at zero energy, S (0)=18.4±1.6 eV b, is consistent only with a restricted data set from previous work.

When deriving resonance strengths using the thick-target yield approximation, for very narrow resonances it may be necessary to take beam energy straggling into account. This applies to gas targets of a few keV width, especially if there is some additional structure in target stoichiometry or detection efficiency. The correction for this effect is shown and tested on recent studies of narrow resonances in the and reactions.

The He 3 ( α , γ ) Be 7 process is a key reaction in both Big-Bang nucleosynthesis and p–p chain of Hydrogen Burning in Stars. A new measurement of the He 3 ( α , γ ) Be 7 cross section has been performed at the INFN Gran Sasso underground laboratory by both the activation and the prompt γ detection methods. The present work reports full details of the prompt γ detection experiment, focusing on the determination of the systematic uncertainty. The final data, including activation measurements at LUNA, are compared with the results of the last generation experiments and two different theoretical models are used to obtain the S-factor at solar energies.

BGO-OD is a newly commissioned experiment to investigate the internal structure of the nucleon, using an energy tagged bremsstrahlung photon beam at the ELSA electron facility. The setup consists of a highly segmented BGO calorimeter surrounding the target, with a particle tracking magnetic spectrometer at forward angles. BGO-OD is ideal for investigating meson photoproduction. The extensive physics programme for open strangeness photoproduction is introduced, and preliminary analysis presented., 6 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings for the 10th International Workshop on the Physics of Excited Nucleons (NSTAR2015)

Beam asymmetry and differential cross section for the reaction gamma+p->eta+p were measured from production threshold to 1500 MeV photon laboratory energy. The two dominant neutral decay modes of the eta meson, eta->2g and eta->3pi0, were analyzed. The full set of measurements is in good agreement with previously published results. Our data were compared with three models. They all fit satisfactorily the results but their respective resonance contributions are quite different. The possible photoexcitation of a narrow state N(1670) was investigated and no evidence was found., 18 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables Submitted to EPJA

International audience; Meson photoproduction with polarized photons has proved to be a powerful tool to identify contributions of baryon resonances that are not evident in the differential cross-sections. It provides information that are complementary to those extracted using pion-nucleon scattering data. Extensive results have been produced in the past on beam asymmetries by the Graal collaboration for η and $\pi ^0$ on the proton. New results are now available for the same reactions on the quasi-free neutron and for the K+ photoproduction on the proton. Contributions from hitherto undetected baryon resonances may be important to understand the results.

Beam asymmetries and hyperon recoil polarizations for the reactions γp → K +Λ and γp → K +Σ0 have been measured from the threshold production to 1500MeV with the GRAAL facility located at the ESRF in Grenoble. These results complement the database for the beam asymmetry, covering for the first time the production threshold region. Recent theoretical analyses are presented for which the beam asymmetry data bring interesting new information and allow to better determine some resonance parameters. Most importantly, these results strengthen the need of a new D13 state around 1900MeV.

The ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na reaction takes part in the neon-sodium cycle of hydrogen burning. This cycle affects the synthesis of the elements between ^{20}Ne and ^{27}Al in asymptotic giant branch stars and novae. The ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na reaction rate is very uncertain because of a large number of unobserved resonances lying in the Gamow window. At proton energies below 400 keV, only upper limits exist in the literature for the resonance strengths. Previous reaction rate evaluations differ by large factors. In the present work, the first direct observations of the ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na resonances at 156.2, 189.5, and 259.7 keV are reported. Their resonance strengths are derived with 2%-7% uncertainty. In addition, upper limits for three other resonances are greatly reduced. Data are taken using a windowless ^{22}Ne gas target and high-purity germanium detectors at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in the Gran Sasso laboratory of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Italy, taking advantage of the ultralow background observed deep underground. The new reaction rate is a factor of 20 higher than the recent evaluation at a temperature of 0.1 GK, relevant to nucleosynthesis in asymptotic giant branch stars.

We report on new measurements of the beam asymmetry for. photoproduction on protons and neutrons in hydrogen and deuterium targets from the GRAAL Collaboration. The beam asymmetry values are extracted from the reaction threshold (E-gamma = 1.1 GeV in the free nucleon kinematics) up to 1.5 GeV of incoming photon energy. For the first time both the radiative and the three-pion decay channels are simultaneously investigated on the free proton. Results from the two decay channels are in agreement, leading to the world's most precise measurements of the beam asymmetry for omega photoproduction off free protons. First experimental results on the deuteron allow the extraction of the Sigma beam asymmetry on quasifree nucleons. The beam asymmetry angular distributions obtained for the free and the quasifree kinematics show the same behavior, similar to the findings in pseudoscalar meson photoproduction reactions. First results of the beam asymmetry on the quasifree neutrons are presented, showing different strengths and angular distributions from the results on the proton target.

First measurement of the beam asymmetry $\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ for Compton scattering off the proton in the energy range ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}=0.85--1.25\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{GeV}$ is presented. The data reveal two narrow structures at ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}=1.036$ and ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}=1.119 \mathrm{GeV}$. They may signal narrow resonances with masses near 1.68 and $1.72\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{GeV}$, or they may be generated by the sub-threshold $K\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ and $\ensuremath{\omega}p$ production. Their decisive identification requires additional theoretical and experimental efforts.

Neutral pion photoproduction has been measured from 550 to 1500 MeV with the GRAAL facility, located at the ESRF in Grenoble. Differential cross-section and beam asymmetry have been measured over a wide angular range. These high-precision data improve significantly the database for the beam asymmetry in the second and third resonance regions covering for the first time the energy domain 1100-1500 MeV. New partial-wave analyses including these data are presented for which the beam asymmetry brings crucial constraints.

Galitskii and Yakimets showed that in dense or low temperature plasma, due to quantum uncertainty effect, the particle distribution function over momenta acquires a power-like tail even under conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium. We show that in weakly non-ideal plasmas, like the solar interior, both non-extensivity and quantum uncertainty should be taken into account to derive equilibrium ion distribution functions and to estimate nuclear reaction rates and solar neutrino fluxes. The order of magnitude of the deviation from the standard Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution can be derived microscopically by considering the presence of random electrical microfield in the stellar plasma. We show that such a nonextensive statistical effect can be very relevant in many nuclear astrophysical problems.

Nowadays there are mainly three types of detectors available for measuring radon concentrations: charcoal canisters, alpha-tracks and E-PERMs. We carried out measurements with the three types of detectors and we tested their performances over a wide range of radon concentrations, temperatures and humidities. We compared the results obtained with the different detectors and we critically evaluated the results.

Context. The NO cycle takes place in the deepest layer of a H-burning core or shell, when the temperature exceeds T 30 × 106 K. The O depletion observed in some globular cluster giant stars, always associated with a Na enhancement, may be due to either a deep mixing during the red giant branch (RGB) phase of the star or to the pollution of the primordial gas by an early population of massive asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, whose chemical composition was modified by the hot bottom burning. In both cases, the NO cycle is responsible for the O depletion. Aims. The activation of this cycle depends on the rate of the 15N(p, γ)16O reaction. A precise evaluation of this reaction rate at temperatures as low as experienced in H-burning zones in stellar interiors is mandatory to understand the observed O abundances. Methods. We present a new measurement of the 15N(p, γ)16O reaction performed at LUNA covering for the first time the center of mass energy range 70−370 keV, which corresponds to stellar temperatures between 65 × 106 K and 780 × 106 K. This range includes the 15N(p, γ)16O Gamow-peak energy of explosive H-burning taking place in the external layer of a nova and the one of the hot bottom burning (HBB) nucleosynthesis occurring in massive AGB stars. Results. With the present data, we are also able to confirm the result of the previous R-matrix extrapolation. In particular, in the temperature range of astrophysical interest, the new rate is about a factor of 2 smaller than reported in the widely adopted compilation of reaction rates (NACRE or CF88) and the uncertainty is now reduced down to the 10% level.

In present days new neutron detection methods are under developed due to the global shortage of 3He and the toxicity of BF3. Neutrons can be indirectly detected by high-energy photons. The performance of a cylindrical NaI crystal, 4 in. diameter and 8 in. length as an indirect neutron detector has been investigated. Measurements were performed with 252Cf source with bare and shielded NaI detector. With a proper converter and moderator structure for the NaI detector, the detection efficiencies and the minimum detectable activities are improved, making the method very interesting for security applications. The indirect detection of neutrons by photons has several advantages. First, this method can in principle be suited by any gamma spectrometer with only slight modifications that do not compromise with its gamma spectrometry measurements. Second, fission neutron sources and neutron generators can be discriminated thanks to their different gamma energy spectra, a discrimination easily done by a NaI spectrometer.

A new generation of UV photosensors, based on single crystal Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) diamonds to work optically coupled with large volume two-phase liquid-Ar (LAr) or liquid-Xe (LXe) detectors nowadays under design for the next generation of WIMPs experiments, is under development. Preliminary tests and first calibrations show these devices can have better performance than the existing UV sensitive detectors (higher photosensitivity and better signal-to-noise ratio). I–V characteristics, dark current measurements, linearity response to X-ray irradiation, and α - particle energy resolution are reported and discussed.

The 15N(p,gamma)16O reaction controls the passage of nucleosynthetic material from the first to the second carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle. A direct measurement of the total 15N(p,gamma)16O cross section at energies corresponding to hydrogen burning in novae is presented here. Data have been taken at 90-230 keV center-of-mass energy using a windowless gas target filled with nitrogen of natural isotopic composition and a bismuth germanate summing detector. The cross section is found to be a factor two lower than previously believed., Comment: LUNA collaboration; accepted by J. Phys. G

Recent observations of $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ in metal poor stars suggest a large production of this isotope during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). In standard BBN calculations, the $^{2}\mathrm{H}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ reaction dominates $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ production. This reaction has never been measured inside the BBN energy region because its cross section drops exponentially at low energy and because the electric dipole transition is strongly suppressed for the isoscalar particles $^{2}\mathrm{H}$ and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ at energies below the Coulomb barrier. Indirect measurements using the Coulomb dissociation of $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ only give upper limits owing to the dominance of nuclear breakup processes. Here, we report on the results of the first measurement of the $^{2}\mathrm{H}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ cross section at big bang energies. The experiment was performed deep underground at the LUNA 400 kV accelerator in Gran Sasso, Italy. The primordial $^{6}\mathrm{Li}/^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ isotopic abundance ratio has been determined to be $(1.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$, from our experimental data and standard BBN theory. The much higher $^{6}\mathrm{Li}/^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ values reported for halo stars will likely require a nonstandard physics explanation, as discussed in the literature.

A yearlong high-resolution radon survey has been carried on at Mount Vesuvius, starting in May 1998. Radon activities were acquired by exposing charcoal canisters and track-etch detectors. Sampling stations were deployed along two major summit faults and around the caldera bottom. Volcanically-related earthquakes, with MD ≥ 2.5, may be discriminated from regional seismic events since their cumulative radon anomalies are recorded from stations located along all the above structural features. On the contrary, radon anomalies correlated to regional earthquakes, with MD ≥ 4, are essentially recorded by the sampling sites located along the two summit faults (whose roots extend deeper into the Tertiary basement rocks that underlay the volcano). Radon migration to the surface is ruled by convection within a porous medium of relatively low porosity (ϕ ≈ 10−5), suggesting that fluid motion is strongly localised along fractures. It is suggested that fluid pressure build up, followed by fluid release and migration during incipient fracturing of the porous medium, precede the onset of volcanically-induced earthquakes.

The COMPTEL instrument performed the first mapping of the 1.809 MeV photons in the Galaxy, triggering considerable interest in determing the sources of interstellar 26Al. The predicted 26Al is too low compared to the observation, for a better understanding more accurate rates for the 25Mg(p; gamma)26Al reaction are required. The 25Mg(p;gamma)26Al reaction has been investigated at the resonances at Er= 745; 418; 374; 304 keV at Ruhr-Universitat-Bochum using a Tandem accelerator and a 4piNaI detector. In addition the resonance at Er = 189 keV has been measured deep underground laboratory at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, exploiting the strong suppression of cosmic background. This low resonance has been studied with the 400 kV LUNA accelerator and a HPGe detector. The preliminary results of the resonance strengths will be reported., Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G

We give the LUNA results on the $\ensuremath{\sigma}(E)$ cross section measurement of a key reaction of the proton-proton chain strongly affecting the calculated neutrino luminosity from the Sun: ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}{(}^{3}\mathrm{He},2p{)}^{4}\mathrm{He}$. Because of the cosmic ray suppression provided by the Gran Sasso underground laboratory, it has been possible to measure $\ensuremath{\sigma}(E)$ throughout the energy range in which this reaction occurs in the Sun, i.e., down to $16.5\mathrm{keV}$ center of mass energy. The data clearly show the cross section increase due to the electron screening effect but they do not exhibit any evidence for a narrow resonance suggested to explain the ${}^{8}\mathrm{B}$ and ${}^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ solar neutrino flux reduction.

In stars with temperatures above 20 × 10 6 K , hydrogen burning is dominated by the CNO cycle. Its rate is determined by the slowest process, the 14N(p, γ)15O reaction. Deep underground in Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory, at the LUNA 400 kV accelerator, the cross section of this reaction has been measured at energies much lower than ever achieved before. Using a windowless gas target and a 4π BGO summing detector, direct cross section data has been obtained down to 70 keV, reaching a value of 0.24 picobarn. The Gamow peak has been covered by experimental data for several scenarios of stable and explosive hydrogen burning. In addition, the strength of the 259 keV resonance has been remeasured. The thermonuclear reaction rate has been calculated for temperatures 90 – 300 × 10 6 K , for the first time with negligible impact from extrapolations.

We report on the status of the 3He(3He,2p)4He experiment at the underground accelerator facility LUNA (Gran Sasso). The lowest projectile energies for the measured cross section correspond already to energies below the center of the solar Gamow peak (E0=22 keV). The data provide no evidence for the existence of a hypothetical resonance in the energy range investigated. Although no extrapolation is needed anymore (except for energies at the low-energy tail of the Gamow peak), the data must be corrected for the effects of electron screening, clearly observed the first time for the 3He(3He,2p)4He reaction. The effects are however larger than expected and not understood, leading presently to the largest uncertainty on the quoted S(0) value for bare nuclides (=5.40 MeVb).