Speaker
Description
The goal of nuclear astrophysics is to measure nuclear reaction cross sections of astrophysical interest and to determine reaction rates in order to improve our understanding of stellar evolution and the synthesis of the elements. At the typical temperatures of stellar interiors, the relevant energy region—the so-called Gamow window—is of the order of a few hundred keV, where nuclear cross sections are extremely small due to the strong suppression caused by the Coulomb barrier.
The LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics) Collaboration has demonstrated that, by performing experiments deep underground and by applying low-background techniques developed in astroparticle physics, it is possible to measure nuclear cross sections down to energies relevant for stellar nucleosynthesis.
This talk will provide an overview of the experimental techniques adopted in underground nuclear astrophysics and will present the most recent results and major achievements of the LUNA experiment. In addition to the scientific program of LUNA, the newly funded LUNANOVA project—supported by the ERC Synergy Grant —will be introduced.
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