Experimental measurement of the 12C+16O fusion cross sections at astrophysical energies.

The total cross sections of the ¹²C+¹⁶O fusion have been experimentally determined at low energies to investigate the role of this reaction during late stellar evolution burning phases. A high-intensity oxygen beam was produced by the 5MV pelletron accelerator at the University of Notre Dame impinging on a thick ultra-pure graphite target. Protons and γ-rays were measured simultaneously in the center-of-mass energy range from 3.64 to 5.01 MeV, using strip silicon and HPGe detectors. Statistical model calculations were employed to interpret the experimental results. A new broad resonance-like structure is observed for the ¹²C+¹⁶O reaction, and a decreasing trend of its S-factor towards low energies is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]