Study of the 26Alm(d,p)27Al Reaction and the Influence of the 26Al 0+ Isomer on the Destruction of 26Al in the Galaxy.

The existence of 26Al (t1/2=7.17×105 yr) in the interstellar medium provides a direct confirmation of ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. The presence of a low-lying 0+ isomer (26Alm), however, severely complicates the astrophysical calculations. We present for the first time a study of the 26Alm(d,p)27Al reaction using an isomeric 26Al beam. The selectivity of this reaction allowed the study of ℓ=0 transfers to T=1/2, and T=3/2 states in 27Al. Mirror symmetry arguments were then used to constrain the 26Alm(p,γ)27Si reaction rate and provide an experimentally determined upper limit of the rate for the destruction of isomeric 26Al via radiative proton capture reactions, which is expected to dominate the destruction path of 26Alm in asymptotic giant branch stars, classical novae, and core collapse supernovae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]