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Reduced uncertainty in the thermonuclear rate of the 33S(p,γ)34Cl reaction would help to improve our understanding of nucleosynthesis in classical nova explosions. At present, models are generally in concordance with observations that nuclei up to roughly the calcium region may be produced in these explosive phenomena; better knowledge of this rate would help with the quantitative interpretation of nova observations over the S-Ca mass region, and contribute towards the firm establishment of a nucleosynthetic endpoint. As well, models find that the ejecta of nova explosions on massive oxygen-neon white dwarfs may contain as much as 150 times the solar abundance of 33S. This characteristic isotopic signature of a nova explosion could possibly be observed through the analysis of microscopic grains formed in the environment surrounding a nova and later embedded within primitive meteorites. An improved 33S(p,γ)34Cl rate (the principal destruction mechanism for 33S in novae) would help to ensure a robust model prediction for the amount of 33S that may be produced. Finally, constraining this rate could confirm or rule out the decay of an isomeric state of 34Cl (Ex = 146 keV, t1/2 = 32 m) as a source for observable gamma-rays from novae. We have performed several complementary experiments dedicated to improving our knowledge of the 33S(p,γ)34Cl rate, using both indirect methods (measurement of the 34S(3He,t)34Cl and 33S(3He,d)34Cl reactions with the Munich Q3D spectrograph) and direct methods (in normal kinematics at CENPA, University of Washington, and in inverse kinematics with the DRAGON recoil mass separator at TRIUMF). Our results will be used with nova models to facilitate comparisons of model predictions with present and future nova observables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TRIUMF-ISAC Gamma-Ray Escape Suppressed Spectrometer (TIGRESS) is a state-of-the-art γ-ray spectrometer being constructed at the ISAC-II radioactive ion beam facility at TRIUMF. TIGRESS will be comprised of twelve 32-fold segmented high-purity germanium (HPGe) clover-type γ-ray detectors, with BGO/CsI(Tl) Compton-suppression shields, and is currently operational at ISAC-II in an early-implementation configuration of six detectors. Results have been obtained for the first experiments performed using TIGRESS, which examined the A = 20, 21, and 29 isotopes of Na by Coulomb excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured the β-decay of the halo-nucleus 11Li, with particular attention to the deuteron- and triton-emission channels. We employed a post-accelerated beam of 11Li ions, and the implantation technique in a finely-segmented silicon detector. The channels of interest were identified through the time and space correlations between the implantation events and the parent and daughter decays. We obtained the branching ratios, as well as the spectra of the emitted ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DRAGON recoil separator facility, designed to measure the rates of radiative proton and alpha capture reactions important for nuclear astrophysics, is now operational at the TRIUMF-ISAC radioactive beam facility in Vancouver, Canada. We report on first measurements of the 21Na(p,γ)22Mg reaction rate with radioactive beams of 21Na. © 2003 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured the [sup 7]Be(p,γ)[sup 8]B cross section from E¯[sub cm]=186 to 1200 keV, with a statistical-plus-systematic precision per point of better than ±5%. All important systematic errors were measured including [sup 8]B backscattering losses. We obtain S[sub 17](0)=22.3±0.7(expt)±0.5(theor) eV-b from our data at E¯[sub cm]≤300 keV and the theory of Descouvemont and Baye. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the dynamical effects of the halo structure of 11Li on the scattering on heavy targets at energies around the Coulomb barrier. This experiment was performed at ISAC-II at TRIUMF with a world record in production of the post-accelerated 11Li beam. As part of this study we report here on the first measurement of the elastic cross section of the core nucleus, i.e. 9Li on 208Pb, at energies around the Coulomb barrier. A preliminary optical model analysis has been performed in order to extract a global optical potential to describe the measured angular distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past ten years the present collaboration has carried out several experiments related with the study of radioactive nuclei. One of the topics in which we have centered our research, is the scattering of halo nuclei at energies around the Coulomb barrier. As part of this study, we present in this work a review of the results obtained from the scattering of 6He, 11Be and 11Li. The presence of a 'halo' in these exotic nuclei is found to have a striking effect on the dynamics of these reactions, making their study an interesting experimental problem and a challenge for existing reaction theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]