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This paper addresses some of the of open problems in photonuclear physics which await to be resolved using high-brilliance γ-ray beams, such as precise measurements of total or partial cross sections of photonuclear reactions related to astroparticle physics and nuclear astrophysics. The readiness for such measurements at ELI-NP, as well as the state-of-the-art instrumentation which is available are discussed. The possibility to utilize γ-beams with orbital angular momentum in photonuclear experiments is addressed, too.

An overview of the main directions of present-day studies with quasimonochromatic γ beams is discussed with an emphasis on the research opportunities which will be offered at the Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility at Magurele near Bucharest in Romania. Experiments with γ beams at the extremes of high temperatures are outlined, with an emphasis on prospective studies related to nuclear astrophysics and astroparticle physics. Some of the experimental setups for nuclear structure, reaction, and astrophysics studies, which are available at ELI-NP, are described.

An experiment was conducted at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) facility at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) in Durham, NC, USA to measure the cross-section of the key astrophysical thermonuclear reaction 12C(α,γ)16O by means of its inverse photo-disintegration process. A high-intensity monochromatic γ-ray beam interacted with the CO2 gas in the active volume of the Warsaw active target TPC detector. The reaction products were detected and their momenta reconstructed, so to also determine angular correlations. Data were collected at 15 beam energies ranging from 8.51 to 13.9 MeV. Preliminary results are presented.

An active-target time-projection chamber (TPC) optimised for studying nuclear reactions of astro-physical interest was developed by the University of Warsaw for studying photo-disintegration reactions using intense, monochromatic γ-ray beams. Different reactions can be studied by tuning composition and density of the gaseous target for particular energy of the gamma beam. The Warsaw TPC detector, with its active volume of about 33x20x20 cm3 centred around the beam axis and micro-pattern structures (GEMs) employed to amplify the primary ionisation induced by charged particles produced in reactions in the gaseous target, is characterised by a readout based on signal strips, arranged into 3-coordinate redundant system. The 3D kinematics of charged particles in the event are reconstructed from a total of about 103 channels read out by digitising front-end electronics based on the General Electronics for TPCs (GET). In this paper the principles of detector operation and basic track reconstruction methods are discussed and illustrated by means of preliminary results from pilot measurements conducted in 2021-22.

Fluorine is one of the most interesting elements in nuclear astrophysics. Its abundance can provide important hints to constrain the stellar models since fluorine production and destruction are strictly connected to the physical conditions inside the stars. The F 19 (p,α)16O reaction is one of the fluorine burning processes and the correction evaluation of its reaction rate is of pivotal importance to evaluate the fluorine abundance. Moreover, the F 19 (p,α)16O reaction rate can have an impact for the production of calcium in the first-generation of Population III stars. Here, we present the AsFiN collaboration efforts to the study of the F 19 (p, α)16O reaction by means of direct and indirect measurements. On the direct measurements side, an experimental campaign aimed to the measurement of the F 19 (p, α 0 , π )16O reaction is ongoing, taking advantage of the new versatile arrays of silicon strip detectors, LHASA and ELISSA. Moreover, the Trojan Horse Method (THM) was used to determine the F 19 (p, α 0 )16O reaction S(E)-factor in the energy range of astrophysical interest ( E c m ≈ 0–1 MeV), showing, for the first time, the presence of resonant structures within the astrophysical energy range. THM has been also applied for the study of the F 19 (p, α π )16O reaction; data analysis is ongoing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of neutron-rich exotic nuclei is crucial not only for nuclear physics but also for nuclear astrophysics. Experimentally, only few neutron-rich nuclei near the stability have been studied, however, most neutron-rich nuclei have not been measured due to their small production cross sections as well as short half-lives. At ELI-NP, gamma beams with high intensities will open new opportunities to investigate very neutron-rich fragments produced by photofission of 238U targets in a gas cell. Based on some simulations, a novel gas cell has been designed to produce, stop and extract 238U photofission fragments. The extraction time and efficiency of photofission fragments have been optimized by using SIMION simulations. According to these simulations, a high extraction efficiency and a short extraction time can be achieved for 238U photofission fragments in the gas cell, which will allow one to measure very neutron-rich fragments with short half-lives by using the IGISOL facility proposed at ELI-NP.

The status of implementation of the ELI-NP high-power laser system and the high-brilliance gamma beam system is reported. The emerging experimental program at the facility in nuclear physics in astrophysics is discussed, with emphasis of the considered day-one experiments.

Nuclear Structure and Decay Data (NSDD) activities in Europe include mass-chain and individual nuclei evaluations as well as horizontal evaluations and compilations, data dissemination and educational activities. As such they are essential for a large range of applications from energy, environmental, and medical to basic research in nuclear structure and reactions, all of which are intensively pursued in Europe. Although the NSDD evaluation groups in Europe form part of the international network of NSDD evaluators, which is coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, they are faced with some very distinct challenges. We shortly present the NSDD Data Centre at IFIN-HH, Bucharest and discuss possible actions to improve the situation for the entire European NSDD evaluation effort.

The Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility, under construction in Magurele near Bucharest in Romania, will provide high-intensity and high-resolution gamma ray beams that can be used to address hotly debated problems in nuclear astrophysics, such as the accurate measurements of the cross sections of the 24Mg(γ,α)20Ne reaction, that is fundamental to determine the effective rate of 28Si destruction right before the core collapse and the subsequent supernova explosion. For this purpose, a silicon strip detector array (named ELISSA, acronym for Extreme Light Infrastructure Silicon Strip Array) will be realized in a common effort by ELI-NP and Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), in order to measure excitation functions and angular distributions over a wide energy and angular range. A prototype of ELISSA was built and tested at INFN-LNS in Catania (Italy) with the support of ELI-NP. In this occasion, we have carried out experiments with alpha sources and with a 11 MeV 7Li beam. Thanks to our approach, the first results of those tests show up a very good energy resolution (better than 1%) and very good position resolution, of the order of 1 mm. Moreover, a threshold of 150 keV can be easily achieved with no cooling.

The astrophysical p-process is an important way of nucleosynthesis to produce the stable and proton-rich nuclei beyond Fe which can not be reached by the s- and r-processes. In the present study, the astrophysical reaction rates of (γ,n), (γ,p), and (γ,α) reactions are computed within the modern reaction code TALYS for about 3000 stable and proton-rich nuclei with 12 < Z < 110. The nuclear structure ingredients involved in the calculation are determined from experimental data whenever available and, if not, from global microscopic nuclear models. In particular, both of the Wood-Saxon potential and the double folding potential with density dependent M3Y (DDM3Y) effective interaction are used for the calculations. It is found that the photonuclear reaction rates are very sensitive to the nuclear potential, and the better determination of nuclear potential would be important to reduce the uncertainties of reaction rates. Meanwhile, the Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility is being developed, which will provide the great opportunity to experimentally study the photonuclear reactions in p-process. Simulations of the experimental setup for the measurements of the photonuclear reactions 96Ru(γ,p) and 96Ru(γ,α) are performed. It is shown that the experiments of photonuclear reactions in p-process based on ELI-NP are quite promising.

A very intense γ beam of the Gamma Factory facility proposed at CERN can be used to generate radioactive ion beams (RIBs) with high production yields and study the structure of exotic neutron‐rich nuclei. The radioactive nuclides are generated via photo‐fission in several actinide targets and thermalized in high‐purity cryogenic helium, filling a gas cell which is enclosing the targets. Electric fields are used to extract heavy ions and form RIBs which can be send to various selection and measurement stations. Estimates for the production and extraction yields of exotic neutron‐rich nuclei with such a setup are provided. A study of the impact of space charge, build‐up inside the gas cell, on the extraction properties is presented and it is demonstrated that the beam needs to be chopped for achieving optimal extraction yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]