Using 19F(3He, t)19Ne∗(γ) to study astrophysically important levels near the 18F+ p threshold

Abstract

A direct test of nova explosion models comes from the observation of γ rays created in the decay of radioactive isotopes produced in the nova. One such isotope, 18F, is believed to be the main source of observable γ rays at and below 511 keV. The main destruction mechanism of 18F is thought to be the 18F(p,α)15O reaction, and uncertainties in the reaction rate arise from uncertainties in the energies, spins, and parities of the nuclear levels in 19Ne above the 18F+p threshold. To measure the properties of these levels, the 19F(3He,t)19Ne-(γ) reaction was studied at Argonne National Laboratory and the Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.