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In astrophysics, the abundance of 26Al is essential for understanding nucleosynthesis in the Milky Way and Galactic core-collapse supernovae rates. Detection methods involve γ-ray lines and comparing 26Mg overabundance with the common Mg isotope in meteorites. Therefore, stable isotopes 27Al and 24Mg play a crucial role and the MgAl cycle affecting aluminum and magnesium production has to be carefully studied. Recent surveys reveal complexities in stellar populations whose understanding may also benefit from better constraining the closure of the MgAl cycle. The 27Al(p, α)24Mg fusion reaction, a key 27Al destruction channel, is central to these scenarios. Due to uncertainties, the Trojan Horse Method is applied, allowing high-precision spectroscopy on the compound nucleus 28Si. It reveals crucial fusion cross section information in the astrophysically relevant energy range. The indirect measurement by means of the 2H(27Al,α24Mg)n process made it possible to assess the contribution of the 84.3 keV resonance and to set upper limits on nearby resonances. This study evaluates the THM recommended rate’s impact on intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars, showing a notable increase in surface aluminum abundance at lower masses due to fusion cross section modification, while 24Mg remains largely unaffected.

Light elements play a key role in different scenario in astrophysics, ranging from primordial nucleosynthesis up to stellar nucleosynthesis and cosmic ray nucleosynthesis. The nuclear reaction cross section measurements of interest in primordial and stellar nucleosynthesis have been investigated in terrestrial laboratories via devoted experiments. However, because of the difficulties in reaching the Gamow energy windows of interest for such processes through direct approaches, the indirect Trojan Horse Method (THM) have been used in the last ’30 years for shedding light on some unsolved questions. After an introductory discussion about the role of the light elements, the discussion will be focused on the application of THM to two different case studies.

The p - p-chain reaction 3He(α, γ)7Be can sensitively influence the prediction of the 7Be and 8B neutrino fluxes. Despite its importance, the knowledge of its reaction cross section at energies of the core of the Sun (15 keV 30 keV) is limited and the accuracy far from the desired 3% level. In the present paper the indirect measurement of the external capture contribution using the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) technique is reported. The angular distributions of deuterons emitted in the 6Li(3He,d)7Be α-transfer reactions were measured and the ANCs extracted from the scaling of distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) and coupled-channel (CC) calculations. Then, the astrophysical S-factor for the 3He(α, γ)7Be reaction was calculated assuming E1 direct capture and the zero energy value turned out to be 0.534 0.025 keVb. Both our experimental and theoretical approaches were benchmarked through the analysis of the 6Li(p,γ)7Be astrophysical factor, with interesting astrophysical applications to the understanding of the primordial lithium problem. In particular, the present work disfavors the occurrence of a claimed 200 keV resonance in the astrophysical factor.

12C +12 C is the main reaction during core and shell carbon burning in massive stars, however, at temperatures higher than 109K when most of the carbon is depleted and its abundance is lower than 16O, the 12C +16 O fusion can also become relevant. Moreover, 12C +16 O reaction can ignite also in the scenario of explosive carbon burning. The astrophysical energy region of interest thus ranges from 3 to 7.2 MeV in the center-of-mass frame. There are various measurements of the cross-section available in the literature, however, they all stop around 4 MeV, making extrapolation necessary at lower energies. To try to solve this uncertainty and corroborate direct measurement the Trojan Horse Method was applied to three-body processes 16O(14N, α24Mg)2H and 16O(14N, p27Al)2H to study the 16O(12C, α)24Mg and 16O(12C, p)27Al reactions.

The Asymptotic Normalization Coefficient (ANC) method has proven to be useful in retrieving the direct part of the radiative capture cross section for a number of reactions of astrophysical interest. In this work, the study of the 26Si(p, γ)27P reaction, studied via the ANC in its extension for mirror nuclei will be discussed.

Astrophysical reactions involving radioactive isotopes (RI) often play an important role in high-temperature stellar environments. The experimental studies on the reaction rates for those are still limited mainly due to the technical difficulties in producing high-quality RI beams. A direct measurement of those reactions would be still challenging in many cases, however, we can make a reliable evaluation of the reaction rates by an indirect method or by studying the resonance prorerties. Here we ntroduce recent examples of experimental studies on such RI-involving astrophysical reactions, performed at Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo, using the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB. One is for the neutron-induced destruction reactions of 7Be in the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, and the other is the study on the 22Mg(α, p) reaction relevant in X-ray bursts, which was performed with the resonant scattering method from the inverse reaction channel.

The carbon-burning process in massive stars mainly occurs via the 12C +12 C. However, at temperatures higher than 109K and considering the increased abundance of 16O produced during the later stages of the heliumburning,the 12C+16O fusion can also become relevant. Moreover, 12C+16O also plays a role in the scenario of explosive carbon burning. Thus, the astrophysical energy region of interest ranges from 3 to 7.2 MeV in the center-of-mass frame. However, the various measurements of the cross-section available in the literature stop around 4 MeV, making extrapolation necessary. To solve this uncertainty and corroborate direct measurement we applied the Trojan Horse Method to three-body processes 16O(14N, α24Mg)2H and 16O(14N, p27Al)2H to study the 12C(16O, α)24Mg and 12C(16O, p)27Al reactions in their entire energy region of astrophysical interest. In this contribution, after briefly describing the method used, the experiment and the preliminary phases of the data analysis will be presented and discussed.

Experimental studies on astrophysical reactions involving radioactive isotopes (RI) often accompany technical challenges. Studies on such nuclear reactions have been conducted at the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB, operated by Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo. We discuss two cases of astrophysical reaction studies at CRIB; one is for the 7Be+n reactions which may affect the primordial 7Li abundance in the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, and the other is for the 22Mg(α, p) reaction relevantin X-raybursts.

Integration of semiconducting properties into the basic topological motif of DNA remains challenging. Here, the authors show a coordination polymer derived from 6-thioguanosine that complexes with Au(I) ions to form a wire-like material that can also integrate semiconducting sequences into the framework of DNA materials.

Neutron induced reactions are fundamental for the nucleosynthesis of elements in the universe. Indeed, to correctly study the reactions involved in the well-known s-process in stars, which produce about half of the elements beyond the iron peak, it is mandatory to know the neutron abundance available in those stars. The 17O(n, a)14C reaction is one of the so-called “neutron poisons” for the pro- cess and it could play an important role in the balance of the neutron abundance. The reaction is therefore investigated in the energy range of astrophysical inter- est between 0 and 350 keV in the center of mass by applying the Trojan Horse Method to the three body reaction 2H(17O, a14C)H.

In the network of reactions present in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the 3He(n, p)3H has an important role which impacts the final 7Li abundance. The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been applied to the 3He(d, pt)H reaction in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor of the 3He(n, p)3H in the Gamow energy range. The experiment will be described in the present work together with the first preliminary results.

Among the indirect methods to determine nuclear cross-section present in literature, the so-called Asymptotic Normalization Coefficient (ANC) has proven to be useful in retrieving the direct part of a radiative capture cross-section in reactions of interest for astrophysics. In this work, the method will be presented, and some results obtained in collaboration between NPI CAS and INFN-LNS will be presented.

The 19F(ρ,α)16O reaction is an important fluorine destruction chan- nel in the proton-rich outer layers of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and it might also play a role in hydrogen-deficient post-AGB star nucleosynthesis. At present, theoretical models overproduce F abundances in AGB stars with re-spect to the observed values, thus calling for further investigation of the nuclear reaction rates involved in the production and destruction of fluorine. In the last years, new direct and indirect measurements improved significantly the knowl- edge of 19F(ρ,α)16O cross section at deeply sub-Coulomb energies (below 0.8 MeV). However, those data are larger by a factor of 1.4 with respect the previ- ous data reported in the NACRE compilation in the energy region 0.6-0.8 MeV. Using the Large High resolution Array of Silicons for Astrophysics (LHASA), we performed a new direct measurement of the 19F(ρ,α)16O. The goal of this experiment is to reduce the uncertainties in the nuclear reaction rate of the 19F(ρ,α)16O reaction. Here, experimental details, the calibration procedure and angular distributions are presented.

The αdecay path of the Hoyle state in 12C (Ex = 7:654MeV) represents one ofthe most challenging questions of modern nuclear physics. Its knowledge can help in theunderstanding of cluster configurations in light nuclei and the possible existence of Bose-Einstein condensates in nuclei. In stars, it is involved in the so-called 3αprocess, wherethe 12C nucleosynthesis occurs. We studied the 14N(d; α2)12C(7:654) reaction at 10:5MeVincident energy to probe its direct decay component. We found, with a precision higherof a factor 5 than any other previous experiment, an almost total absence of direct decaysby-passing the ground state of 8Be. From our analysis, a new upper limit of such decayis found at 0:043% (95% C.L.). Astrophysical 3α process reaction rate calculations haveto be accordingly revised.

In AGB environment, fluorine and sodium abundances are still matter of debate. About 19F (only stable isotope of fluorine), its abundance in the universe is strictly related to standard and extra-mixing processes taking place inside AGB-stars, that are considered to be the most important sites for its production. Nevertheless the way in which it is destroyed is far from being well understood. On the other hand, 23Na presence in Globular Clusters, along with is well-known anticorrelation with oxygen has made clear that this element must be produced in previous generations stars, and intermediatemass AGB stars are one of the possible candidates for its production. For this reason we studied the 19F(α,p)22Ne and 23Na(p,α)20Ne reactions in the energy range of relevance for astrophysics via the Trojan Horse Method (THM), using the three-body reactions 6Li(19F, p22Ne)d and 23Na(d, pn)20Ne.

Proper selection of the quasi-free (QF) break-up channel in a three-body reaction is a key aspect for the applicability of the Trojan Horse Method (THM). The Treiman-Yang (TY) Criterion is a model-independent experimental test for the dominance of the QF mechanism, and hence constitutes one of the strongest validity tests of the THM. An experiment was performed at LNS to apply the test to the d(10B, 7Be α)n reaction. Here, the criterion is described and some preliminary data from the experiment are shown.

Two nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest, 26Mg(3He,d)27Al and 26Mg(d,p)27Mg, were measured for extraction of the Asymptotic Normalization Coefficients. Investigation of the target composition is presented, as well as the effects that showed up during analysis of the in-beam data obtained on CANAM accelerators in the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (NPI CAS).

The 10B(p,α0)7Be reaction has been studied by applying the Trojan Horse method to the 2H(10B,α0 7Be)n reaction. The bare-nucleus astrophysical S(E)-factor in absolute units was extracted in a wide energy range, from 2.2 MeV to 3 keV and normalized to the direct experimental data, thus allowing determination of the electron screening potential for which a value of Ue=391±74 eV was obtained.

Asymptotic Normalization Coefficients method is one of the indirect methods used in nuclear astrophysics. The method allows to deduce a direct part of a radiative capture cross section from the measurement of a two body reaction under specific conditions. The experimental works started in collaboration of NPI CAS, TAMU and INFN LNS from 90-ties and continue till the present. The introduction to this method is presented and experimental experiences from NPI CAS and the collaboration are shared.

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been applied extensively for the last 25 years to measure nuclear reaction cross sections of interest for astrophysics. Although it has been mainly applied for charged particle-induced reactions, recently it has been found to have also a relevant role for neutron-induced reactions. Here, some advantages of THM will be discussed and the preliminary results of the cosmological relevant 7Be(n,α)4He cross section measurement are discussed.

We attempted to determine the astrophysical S-factor of the direct part of the 18O(p, γ)19F capture by the indirect method of asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANC). We measured the differential cross section of the transfer reaction 18O(3He, d)19F at a 3He energy of 24.6 MeV. The measurement was realized on the cyclotron of the NPI in Řež, Czech Republic, with the gas target consisting of the high purity 18O (99.9 %). The reaction products were measured by eight ∆E-E telescopes composed from thin and thick silicon surface-barrier detectors. The parameters of the optical model for the input channel were deduced by means of the code ECIS and the analysis of transfer reactions to 12 levels of the 19F nucleus up to 8.014 MeV was made by the code FRESCO. The deduced ANCs were then used to specify the direct contribution to the 18O(p, γ)19F capture process and were compared with the mutually different results of two works.

Gamma ray astronomy has made big strides in the last decades paving the way to a better understanding of explosive nucleosynthesis. In particular, crucial information on novae nucleosynthesis is linked to the abundance of the 18F isotope, which might be detected in explosive environments. Therefore, the reaction network producing and destroying this radioactive isotope has been extensively studied in the last years. Among those reactions, the 18F(p,α)15O cross section has been measured by means of several dedicated experiments, both using direct and indirect methods. The presence of resonances in the energy region of astrophysical interest has been reported by many authors. In the present work a report on a recent experiment performed via the Trojan Horse Method (THM) at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute is presented and the results are given and compared with the ones known in the literature, both direct and indirect. Data arising from THM measurements are then averaged and the reaction rate calculated in the novae energy range. Hints on future astrophysical applications will also be given.

The abundance of 19F in the universe is strictly related to standard and extra-mixing processes taking place inside AGB-stars, that are considered to be the most important sites for its production. Nevertheless the way in which it is destroyed is far from being well understood. For this reason we studied the 19F(α,p)22Ne reaction, that is supposed to be the main destruction channel in the Helium-rich part of the star. In this experiment, the reaction has been studied in the energy range of relevance for astrophysics (0÷1 MeV) via the Trojan Horse Method (THM), using the three-body reaction 6Li(19F,p22Ne)d.

The Hoyle state in 12C(Ex = 7.654MeV) is characterized by a pronounced 3α cluster configuration. It is involved in the so-called 3α process in stars, that is responsible of 12C nucleosynthesis. We studied the decay path of the Hoyle state by using the 14N(d, α2)12C(7.654) reaction at 10.5MeV incident energy. We found, with a precision higher of a factor 5 than any other previous experiment, an almost total absence of direct decays by-passing the ground state of 8Be. A new upper limit of such a decay width is placed at 0.043% (95% C.L.). Astrophysical 3α process reaction rate calculations have to be consequently revised.

The 10B(p,α0)7Be reaction cross section has been measured in an wide energy range from 2.2 MeV down to 3 keV in a single experiment applying THM. Optimized experimental set-up ensured good energy resolution leading to a good separation of α0 and α1 contributions to the cross section coming from the 7Be ground and first excited state, respectively.

The 16O+16O fusion reaction is important in terms of the explosive oxygen burning process during late evolution stage of massive stars as well as understanding of the mechanism of low-energy heavy-ion fusion reactions. We aim to determine the excitation function for the most major exit channels, α+28Si and p+31P, toward stellar energies indirectly by the Trojan Horse Method via the 16O(20Ne, α28Si)α and 16O(20Ne, p31P)α three-body reactions. We report preliminary results involving reaction identification, and determination of the momentum distribution of α-16O intercluster motion in the projectile 20Ne nucleus.

A measurement of the 12C(14N,α20Ne)2H and 12C(14N,p23Na)2Hreactions has been performed at a 14N beam energy of 30.0 MeV. The experiment aims to explore the extent to which contributing 24Mg excited states can be populated in the quasi-free reaction off the deuteron in 14N. In particular, the 24Mg excitation region explored in the measurement plays a key role in stellar carbon burning whose cross section is commonly determined by extrapolating high-energy fusion data. From preliminary results, α and proton channels are clearly identified. In particular, ground and first excited states of 20Ne and 23Na play a major role.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) requires several nuclear physics inputs and nuclear reaction rates. An up-to-date compilation of direct cross sections of d(d,p)t, d(d,n)3He and 3He(d,p)4He reactions is given, being these ones among the most uncertain bare-nucleus cross sections. An intense experimental effort has been carried on in the last decade to apply the Trojan Horse Method (THM) to study reactions of relevance for the BBN and measure their astrophysical S(E)-factor. The reaction rates and the relative error for the four reactions of interest are then numerically calculated in the temperature ranges of relevance for BBN (0.01

We report preliminary results of a new measurement of the 10B(p,α0)7Be cross section in the 0.6 - 1.0 MeV bombarding energy domain. In this region very few data have been reported in the literature. Excitation functions at both forward and backward angles have been obtained. Angular distributions testify the contribution due to several excited states in the 11C compound nucleus. The experimental S-factor is about 30% lower than the one reported in the literature and based on activation methods.

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been largely adopted for investigating astrophysically relevant charged-particle induced reactions at Gamow energies. Indeed, THM allows one to by pass extrapolation procedures, thus overcoming this source of uncertainty. Here, the recent THM results and their impact in astrophysics are going to be discussed.

In recent years, the Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been used to investigate the low-energy cross sections of proton-induced reactions on 17O nuclei, overcoming extrapolation procedures and enhancement effects due to electron screening. We will report on the indirect study of the 17O(p,α)14N reaction via the Trojan Horse Method by applying the approach developed for extracting the resonance strength of narrow resonance in the ultralow energy region. The mean value of the strengths obtained in the two measurements was calculated and compared with the direct data available in literature.

Studies on nuclear astrophysics, nuclear structure, and other interests have been performed using the radioactive-isotope (RI) beams at the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB, operated by Center for Nuclear Study (CNS), the University of Tokyo. A typical measurement performed at CRIB is the elastic resonant scattering with the inverse kinematics. One recent experiment was on the α resonant scattering with 7Li and 7Be beams. This study is related to the astrophysical 7Li/7Be(α,γ) reactions, important at hot p-p chain and νp-process in supernovae. There have also been measurements based on other experimental methods. The first THM measurement using an RI beam has been performed at CRIB, to study the 18F(p, α)15O reaction at astrophysical energies via the three body reaction 2H(18F, α15O)n. The 18F(p, α) 15O reaction rate is crucial to understand the 511-keV γ-ray production in nova explosion phenomena, and we successfully evaluated the reaction cross section at novae temperature and below experimentally for the first time.

In this contribution we will present the future activities that our collaboration will carry out at ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics), the new multi peta-watt Laser facility, currently under construction at Bucharest (Romania). The activities concerns the study of nuclear reactions in laser plasmas. In this framework we proposed the construction of a new, general-purpose experimental set-up able to detect and identify neutrons and charged particles.

The 13C(α, n)16O reaction is the neutron source for the main component of the s-process. It is is active inside the helium-burning shell of asymptotic giant branch stars, at temperatures ≲ 108 K. In this temperature region, corresponding to an energy interval of 140 − 230 keV, the 13C(α, n)16O cross section is dominated by the −3 keV sub-threshold resonance due to the 6.356 MeV level in 17O. Direct measurements could not establish its contribution owing to the Coulomb barrier between interacting nuclei, strongly reducing the cross section at astrophysical energies. Similarly, indirect measurements and extrapolations yielded inconsistent results, calling for further investigations. The Trojan Horse Method was applied to the 13C(6Li, n16O)d quasi-free reaction to access the low as well as the negative energy region of the 13C(α, n)16O reaction. By using the generalized R-matrix approach, the asymptotic normalization coefficient (C̃17O(1/2+)α13C)2 of the 6.356 MeV level was deduced. For the first time, the Trojan Horse Method and the asymptotic normalization coefficient were used in synergy. Our indirect approach lead to (C̃17O(1/2+)α13C)2 = 7.7−1.5+1.6 fm−1, slightly larger than the values in the literature, determining a 13C(α, n)16O reaction rate slightly larger than the one in the literature at temperatures lower than 108 K, with enhanced accuracy.

Trojan Horse method plays an important part for the measurement of several charged particle induced reactions cross sections of astrophysical interest. In order to better understand its cornerstones and the related applications to different astrophysical scenarios several tests were performed to verify all its properties and the possible future perspectives. The Trojan Horse nucleus invariance for the binary reactions d(d,p)t, 6,7Li(p,α)3,4He was therefore tested using the appropriate quasi free break- ups, respectively. In the first cases results from 6Li and 3He break up were used, while for the lithium fusion reactions break-ups of 2H and 3He were compared. The astrophysical S(E)-factors for the different processes were then extracted in the framework of the PlaneWave Approximation applied to the different break-up schemes. The obtained results are compared with direct data as well as with previous indirect investigations. The very good agreement between data coming from different break-up schemes confirms the applicability of the plane wave approximation and suggests the independence of binary indirect cross section on the chosen Trojan Horse nucleus also for the present cases. Moreover the astrophysical implications of the results will also be discussed in details.

The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been used to investigate the low-energy cross sections of the 17O(p,α)14N and 18O(p,α)15N fusion reactions and to extract the strengths of the resonances that more contribute to the reaction rates at astrophysical energies. Moreover, the strength of the 65 keV resonance in the 17O(p,α)14N reaction, measured by means of the THM, has been used to renormalize the corresponding resonance strength in the 17O + p radiative capture channel. Since, proton-induced fusion reactions on 17O and 18O belong to the CNO cycle network for H-burning in stars, the new estimates of the cross sections have been introduced into calculations of Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star nucleosynthesis to determine their impact on astrophysical environments. Results of nucleosynthesis calculations have been compared with geochemical analysis of ”presolar” grains. These solids form in the cold and dusty envelopes that surround AGB stars and once that have been ejected by stellar winds, come to us as inclusions in meteorites providing invaluable benchmarks and constraints for our knowledge of fusion reactions in astrophysical environments.

The residual amount of light elements lithium, beryllium and boron (LiBeB) abundances in stellar atmospheres has been largely accepted as one of the most powerful probes for understanding stellar structure and mixing phenomena. They are in fact gradually destroyed at different depths of stellar interior mainly by (p,α), thus their fate in stars is an incomparable tool for studying mixing processes. In order to avoid extrapolation procedures on the available direct S(E)-factor measurements, the Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been developed, allowing one to measure the bare nucleus S(E)-factor for astrophysically relevant reactions without experiencing Coulomb penetrability effects. Here, a summary on the recent 6,7Li and 11B TH investigations will be given and the corresponding results discussed.

The reaction 17O(n, α)14C was studied using virtual neutrons coming from the quasi-free deuteron break-up in the three body reaction 17O+d → α+14C+p. This technique, called virtual neutron method, extends the Trojan Horse method to neutron-induced reactions allowing to study the reaction cross section avoiding the suppression effects coming from the penetrability of the centrifugal barrier. For incident neutron energies from thermal up to a few hundred keV, direct experiments have shown the population of two out of three expected excited states at energies 8213 keV and 8282 keV and the influence of the sub-threshold level at 8038 keV. In the present experiment the 18O excited state at E* = 8.125 MeV, missing in the direct measurement, is observed. The angular distributions of the populated resonances have been measured for the first time. The results unambiguously indicate the ability of the method to overcome the centrifugal barrier suppression effect and to pick out the contribution of the bare nuclear interaction.

In the last decades the Trojan Horse method has played a crucial role for the measurement of several charged particle induced reactions cross sections of astrophysical interest. To better understand its cornerstones and its applications to physical cases many tests were performed to verify all its properties and the possible future perspectives. The Trojan Horse nucleus invariance for the binary d(d,p)t reaction was therefore tested using the quasi free 2H(6Li, pt)4He and 2H(3He,pt)H reactions after 6Li and 3He break-up, respectively. The astrophysical S(E)-factor for the d(d,p)t binary process was then extracted in the framework of the Plane Wave Approximation applied to the two different break-up schemes. The obtained results are compared with direct data as well as with previous indirect investigations. The very good agreement confirms the applicability of the plane wave approximation and suggests the independence of binary indirect cross section on the chosen Trojan Horse nucleus also for the present case.

Most of the nuclei in the mass range 90 ≲ A ≲ 208 are produced through the so-called s-process, namely through a series of neutron capture reactions on seed nuclei followed by β-decays. The 13C(α, n)16O reaction is the neutron source for the main component of the s-process. It is active inside the helium-burning shell of asymptotic giant branch stars, at temperatures ≲ 108 K, corresponding to an energy interval of 140 − 230 keV. In this region, the astrophysical S(E)-factor is dominated by the −3 keV sub-threshold resonance due to the 6.356 MeV level in 17O. Direct measurements could not soundly establish its contribution owing to the cross section suppression at astrophysical energies determined by the Coulomb barrier between interacting nuclei. Indirect measurements and extrapolations yielded inconsistent results, calling for further investigations. The Trojan Horse Method turns out to be very suited for the study of the 13C(α, n)16O reaction as it allows us to access the low as well as the negative energy re- gion, in particular in the case of resonance reactions. We have applied the Trojan HorseMethod to the 13C(6Li, n16O)d quasi-free reaction. By using the modified R-matrix approach, the asymptotic normalization coefficient (C˜α13 C17O(1/2+))2${\left( {\tilde C_{{\alpha ^{13}}{\rm{C}}}^{17{\rm{O(1/}}{{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ + }}}{\rm{)}}}} \right)^2}$ of the 6.356 MeV level has been deduced as well as the n-partial width, allowing to attain an unprecedented accuracy for the 13C(α, n)16O astrophysical factor. A preliminary analysis of a partial data set has lead to (C˜α13C17O(1/2+))2 = 6.7−0.6+0.9 fm−1,${\left( {\tilde C_{{\alpha ^{13}}{\rm{C}}}^{17{\rm{O(1/}}{{\rm{2}}^{\rm{ + }}}{\rm{)}}}} \right)^2}\, = \,6.7_{ - 0.6}^{ + 0.9}\,{\rm{f}}{{\rm{m}}^{ - 1}},$ slightly larger than the values in the literature, determining a 13C(α, n)16O reaction rate in agreement with the most results in the literature at ∼ 108 K, with enhanced accuracy thanks to this innovative approach.