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The complex reaction network connected to the 19F stellar abundance is very sensitive to the physical condition in stars. To overcome difficulties present in the direct measurements, mainly the very low cross section in the astrophysical energy range due to the Coulomb repulsion, an indirect measurement of the 19F(p, α) reaction, with the Trojan Horse Method (THM), was performed at INFN-LNS. While the method had been successfully used to study α0 channel, in the present analysis focus was given to the α1,2 channels, where better knowledge of the reaction rates at low energies is required, obtainable by employing the THM method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing the presence of the Coulomb barrier at astrophysically relevant kinetic energies, it is very difficult, or sometimes impossible to measure astrophysical reaction cross sections in laboratories, especially for the presence of the electron screening effect. This is why different indirect techniques are being used along with direct measurements. The Trojan Horse Method (THM)is a unique indirect technique allowing one to measure astrophysical rearrangement reactions down to astrophysical relevant energies. The basic principle and a review of the main applications of the THM are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 10B(p,α)7Be reaction is the main responsible for the 10B destruction in stellar interior [1]. In such environments this p-capture process occurs at a Gamow energy of 10 keV and takes places mainly through a resonant state (Ex = 8.701 MeV) of the compound 11C nucleus. Thus a resonance right in the region of the Gamow peak is expected to significantly influence the behavior of the astrophysical S(E)-factor. The 10B(p,α)7Be reaction was studied via the Trojan Horse Method (THM) applied to the 2H(10B,α7Be)n in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor in a wide energy range from 5 keV to 1.5 MeV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]