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Nuclear deexcitation lines are regularly observed in the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission spectra of strong solar flares. The most prominent lines are produced by interactions of protons and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles, accelerated up to hundreds of MeV, with abundant nuclei of the solar atmosphere. Analysis and interpretation of these lines, which carry valuable information on the solar flare properties, need cross-section data for the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray line emission in these interactions for a wide particle energy range. To this purpose, we measured the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission in interactions of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-particle beams of ${E}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}=50\text{--}90$ MeV with target foils of C, Mg, Si, and Fe at the center for proton therapy of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. Setups of three high-purity Ge detectors and one $\mathrm{La}{\mathrm{Br}}_{3}$:Ce detector have been employed to detect the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays in two experiment campaigns. Relatively large distances of the detectors from the target and pulsed beams with sub-ns-wide pulses allowed the separation of beam-induced prompt $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission from the targets from other $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays and neutron-induced background. $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray production cross sections for about 60 deexcitation lines from excited target nuclei or reaction products have been determined. For the strongest deexcitation lines from the major target isotopes, $^{12}\mathrm{C}$, $^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$, $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$, $^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$, there are now measured cross-section data from reaction threshold to ${E}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}=90$ MeV that can be directly used for astrophysical applications like solar flares. Comparison of the results with a cross-section compilation for strong $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray lines in solar flare emissions and the predictions of the talys nuclear reaction code were done. They underline the importance of cross-section determinations at accelerator laboratories for the establishment of an accurate cross-section data base in a wide projectile energy range.

Background: It has been recently suggested that hydrogen ingestion into the helium shell of massive stars could lead to high C13 and N15 excesses when the shock of a core-collapse supernova passes through its helium shell. This prediction questions the origin of extremely high C13 and N15 abundances observed in rare presolar SiC grains which is usually attributed to classical novae. In this context the N13(α,p)O16 reaction plays an important role since it is in competition with N13β+ decay to C13. Purpose: The N13(α,p)O16 reaction rate used in stellar evolution calculations comes from the Caughlan and Fowler compilation with very scarce information on the origin of this rate and with no associated uncertainty. The goal of this work is to provide a recommended N13(α,p)O16 reaction rate, based on available experimental data, with a meaningful statistical uncertainty. Method: Unbound nuclear states in the F17 compound nucleus were studied using the spectroscopic information of the analog states in O17 nucleus that were measured at the Tandem-Alto facility using the C13(Li7,t)O17 α-particle-transfer reaction. The α-particle spectroscopic factors were derived using a finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation analysis. This spectroscopic information was used to calculate a recommended N13(α,p)O16 reaction rate with meaningful uncertainty using a Monte Carlo approach. Results: The N13(α,p)O16 reaction rate from the present work is found to be within a factor of two of the previous evaluation in the temperature range of interest, with a typical uncertainty of a factor ≈2-3. The source of this uncertainty has been identified to come from the three main contributing resonances at Erc.m.=221, 741, and 959 keV. This new error estimation translates to an overall uncertainty in the C13 production of a factor of 50 when using the lower and upper reaction rates in the conditions relevant for the N13(α,p)O16 activation. Conclusions: The main source of uncertainty on the re-evaluated N13(α,p)O16 reaction rate currently comes from the uncertain α-particle width of relevant F17 states.

Background: The Ne-22(alpha, n)Mg-25 reaction is an important source of neutrons for the s-process. Direct measurement of this reaction and the competing Ne-22(alpha,gamma)Mg-26 reaction are challenging due to the gaseous nature of both reactants, the low cross section and the experimental challenges of detecting neutrons and high-energy gamma rays. Detailed knowledge of the resonance properties enables the rates to be constrained for s-process models. Purpose: Previous experimental studies have demonstrated a lack of agreement in both the number and excitation energy of levels in Mg-26. To try to resolve the disagreement between different experiments, proton and deuteron inelastic scattering from Mg-26 have been used to identify excited states. Method: Proton and deuteron beams from the tandem accelerator at theMaier-Leibnitz Laboratorium at Garching, Munich, were incident upon enriched (MgO)-Mg-26 targets. Scattered particles were momentum-analyzed in the Q3D magnetic spectrograph and detected at the focal plane. Results: Reassignments of states around E-x = 10.8-10.83 MeV in Mg-26 suggested in previous works have been confirmed. In addition, new states in Mg-26 have been observed, two below and two above the neutron threshold. Up to six additional states above the neutron threshold may have been observed compared to experimental studies of neutron reactions on Mg-25, but some or all of these states may be due to Mg-24 contamination in the target. Finally, inconsistencies between measured resonance strengths and some previously accepted J(pi) assignments of excited Mg-26 states have been noted. Conclusion: There are still a large number of nuclear properties in Mg-26 that have yet to be determined and levels that are, at present, not included in calculations of the reaction rates. In addition, some inconsistencies between existing nuclear data exist that must be resolved in order for the reaction rates to be properly calculated.

We have performed the $^{70}\mathrm{Zn}(d,^{3}\mathrm{He})^{69}\mathrm{Cu}$ proton pick-up reaction in direct kinematics using a deuteron beam at 27 MeV. The outgoing $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ particles were detected at the focal-plane detection system of an Enge split-pole spectrometer. The excitation-energy spectrum was reconstructed up to 7 MeV and spectroscopic factors were obtained after analysis of the angular distributions in the finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation. The results show three new angular distributions for which the $\ensuremath{\pi}{f}_{7/2}$ strength was measured and a lower limit of the centroid is established. State-of-the-art shell-model calculations are performed and predict a $\ensuremath{\pi}{f}_{7/2}$ strength that lies too high in energy in comparison to our experimental results.

Uncertainties in the thermonuclear rates of the $^{15}\text{O}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma}){}^{19}\text{Ne}$ and ${}^{18}\text{F}(p,\ensuremath{\alpha}){}^{15}\text{O}$ reactions affect model predictions of light curves from type I x-ray bursts and the amount of the observable radioisotope $^{18}\text{F}$ produced in classical novae, respectively. To address these uncertainties, we have studied the nuclear structure of $^{19}\text{Ne}$ over ${E}_{x}=4.0\ensuremath{-}5.1$ and 6.1--7.3 MeV using the $^{19}\text{F}(^{3}\text{He},t)^{19}\text{Ne}$ reaction. We find the ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ values of the 4.14- and 4.20-MeV levels to be consistent with $9/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and $7/{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, respectively, in contrast to previous assumptions. We confirm the recently observed triplet of states around 6.4 MeV and find evidence that the state at 6.29 MeV, just below the proton threshold, is either broad or a doublet. Our data also suggest that predicted but yet unobserved levels may exist near the 6.86-MeV state. Higher resolution experiments are urgently needed to further clarify the structure of $^{19}\text{Ne}$ around the proton threshold before a reliable ${}^{18}\text{F}(p,\ensuremath{\alpha}){}^{15}\text{O}$ rate for nova models can be determined.

The ${}^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ radioisotope is of great importance for understanding the chemical and dynamical evolution of our galaxy. Among the possible stellar sources, massive stars are believed to be the main producer of this radioisotope. Understanding ${}^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ nucleosynthesis in massive stars requires estimates of the thermonuclear reaction rates of the $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$${(n,p)}^{26}$Mg, $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$${(n,\ensuremath{\alpha})}^{23}$Na, and $^{23}\mathrm{Na}$${(\ensuremath{\alpha},p)}^{26}$Mg reactions. These reaction rates depend on the spectroscopic properties of ${}^{27}\mathrm{Al}$ states above the neutron and alpha thresholds. In this context, the $^{27}\mathrm{Al}$${(p,{p}^{\ensuremath{'}})}^{27}$Al* reaction was studied at 18 MeV using a high-resolution Enge Split-Pole spectrometer. States from the ground state up to excitation energies of $\ensuremath{\approx}$14 MeV were populated. While up to the ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ + $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ threshold no additional states are observed, we report for the first time 30 new levels above the ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ + $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ threshold and more than 30 new states above the ${}^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ + n threshold for which excitation energies are determined with an uncertainty of 4--5 keV.

The ${}^{12}$C($\ensuremath{\alpha}$,$\ensuremath{\gamma}$)${}^{16}$O reaction plays a crucial role in stellar evolution. The rate of this reaction determines directly the ${}^{12}$C-to-${}^{16}$O abundance ratio at the end of the helium burning phase of stars and consequently has a big effect on the subsequent nucleosynthesis and even on the evolution of massive stars. However, despite many experimental studies, the low-energy cross section of ${}^{12}$C($\ensuremath{\alpha}$,$\ensuremath{\gamma}$)${}^{16}$O remains uncertain. The extrapolation of the measured cross sections to stellar energies ($E\ensuremath{\sim}300$ keV) is made particularly difficult by the presence of the 2${}^{+}$ (${E}_{x}=6.92$ MeV) and 1${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ (${E}_{x}=7.12$ MeV)subthreshold states of ${}^{16}$O. To further investigate the contribution of these two subthreshold resonances to the ${}^{12}$C($\ensuremath{\alpha}$,$\ensuremath{\gamma}$)${}^{16}$O cross section, we determine their $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-reduced widths via a measurement of the transfer reaction ${}^{12}$C(${}^{7}$Li, $t$)${}^{16}$O at two incident energies, 28 and 34 MeV. The uncertainties on the determined $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-spectroscopic factors and the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-reduced widths were reduced thanks to a detailed distorted-wave Born approximation analysis of the transfer angular distributions measured at the two incident energies. The $R$-matrix calculations of ${}^{12}$C($\ensuremath{\alpha}$,$\ensuremath{\gamma}$)${}^{16}$O cross section using our obtained $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-reduced widths for the 2${}^{+}$ and 1${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ subthreshold resonances lead to an $E1$ $S$ factor at 300 keV of $100\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}28$ keV b, which is consistent with values obtained in most of the direct and indirect measurements as well as the NACRE collaboration compilation while the result for the $E2$ component ${S}_{E2}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(300\phantom{\rule{4.pt}{0ex}}\text{keV})=50\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}19$ keV b disagrees with the NACRE adopted value.

The {sup 17}O(p,{alpha}){sup 14}N reaction is of fundamental relevance in several astrophysical scenarios, such as novae, asymptotic giant branch nucleosynthesis, and {gamma}-ray astronomy. We report on the indirect measurement of the {sup 17}O(p,{alpha}){sup 14}N reaction bare-nucleus cross section in the low-energy region. In particular, the two resonances at E{sub R}{sup c.m.}=65 keV and E{sub R}{sup c.m.}=183 keV, which dominate the reaction rate inside the Gamow window, have been observed, and the strength of the 65 keV resonance has been deduced. The reaction rate determination and the comparison with the results of the previous measurements are also discussed.

$\ensuremath{\gamma}$-rays following the $\ensuremath{\beta}$ and $\ensuremath{\beta}\text{\ensuremath{-}}n$ decays of the very neutron rich ${}_{31}^{84}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{53}$ produced by the photofission of $^{238}\mathrm{U}$ have been studied at the newly built ISOL facility of IPN Orsay: ALTO. Two activities were observed and assigned to two $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decaying states: $^{84}\mathrm{Ga}$${}^{g}$, ${I}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}=({0}^{\ensuremath{-}})$ and $^{84}\mathrm{Ga}$${}^{m}$, ${I}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}=({3}^{\ensuremath{-}},{4}^{\ensuremath{-}})$. Excitation energies of the ${2}_{1}^{+}$ and ${4}_{1}^{+}$ states of ${}_{32}^{84}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{52}$ were measured at $E({2}_{1}^{+})=624.3$ keV and $E({4}_{1}^{+})=1670.1$ keV. Comparison with HFB $+$ GCM calculations allows to establish the collective character of this nucleus. The excitation energy of the $1/{2}_{1}^{+}$ state in ${}_{32}^{83}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{51}$ known to carry a large part of the neutron $3{s}_{1/2}$ strength was measured at $247.8$ keV. Altogether these data allow to confirm the new single particle state ordering which appears immediately after the double $Z=28$ and $N=50$ shell closure and to designate $^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$ as a fragile and easily polarized doubly-magic core.

An excited state in the proton-rich unbound nucleus $^{12}\mathrm{O}$ was identified at 1.8(4) MeV via missing-mass spectroscopy with the $^{14}\mathrm{O}(p,t)$ reaction at $51\text{ }\text{ }A\mathrm{MeV}$. The spin-parity of the state was determined to be ${0}^{+}$ or ${2}^{+}$ by comparing the measured differential cross sections with distorted-wave calculations. The lowered location of the excited state in $^{12}\mathrm{O}$ indicates the breakdown of the major shell closure at $Z=8$ near the proton drip line. This demonstrates the persistence of mirror symmetry in the disappearance of the magic number 8 between $^{12}\mathrm{O}$ and its mirror partner $^{12}\mathrm{Be}$.

During nova outbursts the decay of {sup 18}F is the main source of {gamma}-ray emission at and below 511 keV. In spite of much experimental effort, the quantity of {sup 18}F synthesized still suffers from large uncertainties which arise mainly from the {sup 18}F(p, {alpha}){sup 15}O reaction cross section at low energies. We report here on a new direct measurement carried out at the Louvain-la-Neuve RIB facility of Louvain-la-Neuve using an isobarically pure {sup 18}F beam impinging on a thin polyethylene target. Cross sections down to a center-of-mass energy of 400 keV have been obtained and the results together with previous experimental data were compared to R-matrix calculations. The effect of the relative contribution of the two low-lying 3/2{sup +} resonances as well as the sensitivity of the calculations to the R-matrix radius is studied in detail.

The nucleosynthetic origin of $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ (${t}_{1/2}=0.72$ Myr) in the early solar system is still an open question. Several models predict that short-lived radionuclides could be produced by irradiation of circumsolar material by light charged particles emitted by the young sun. Within some models, most of the $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ is produced by $^{3}\mathrm{He}$-induced reactions on $^{24}\mathrm{Mg}$. Little experimental data exist on $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ reactions so that irradiation models have had to rely on theoretical cross sections deduced from statistical nuclear reaction codes. We performed a direct measurement of the $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ production on Mg target by means of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ ray spectroscopy and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The data indicate that the theoretical cross section used in previous approaches was overestimated by a factor of 3. Taking the particle spectra considered in theoretical approaches these data lead to a net reduction of the $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ production of a factor of 2. We calculated the relative contribution of the different $^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ production channels depending on the irradiation scenario. We show that extremely large particles fluxes would be necessary to reach the canonical ${}^{26}\mathrm{Al}{/}^{27}\mathrm{Al}$ $=5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$ in solids that were present in the early solar system. An in situ origin of this important isotopic chronometer by irradiation is unlikely.

{gamma}-ray production cross sections for proton and {alpha}-particle interactions with {sup 12}C, {sup 16}O, {sup 24}Mg, and Fe have been measured in the energy range 5-25 MeV with proton beams and 5-40 MeV with {alpha}-particle beams. Isotopically pure foils of {sup 24}Mg and foils of natural isotopical composition of C, MgO, and Fe have been used. {gamma}-ray angular distributions were obtained with five high-purity Ge detectors with bismuth germanate Compton shields placed at angles of 45 deg. to 157.5 deg. Cross sections for more than 50 different {gamma}-ray transitions were extracted, and for many of them no data have been published before. Comparison of present data with data available in the literature shows mostly good to excellent agreement. In addition to the production cross sections, high-statistics, low-background line shapes of the 4.438 MeV {sup 12}C {gamma} ray from inelastic scattering off {sup 12}C and spallation of {sup 16}O were obtained. Comparison with nuclear reaction calculations shows that these data place interesting constraints on nuclear reaction models.