Speaker
Description
Our recent work [1] investigates the 16O+16O fusion reaction, a critical process for understanding how massive stars burn oxygen during their final evolutionary stages. Because direct measurements at low stellar energies are difficult to obtain, researchers performed a validity test using the Trojan Horse Method to study the reaction indirectly. The study specifically explores using 20Ne as a Trojan Horse nucleus, examining its internal alpha-particle and 16O cluster structure to act as a virtual source for the fusion. Experimental data gathered from laboratories in Poland and Kazakhstan were compared against theoretical simulations involving relativistic mean-field models. The results show a fair agreement between the measured reaction yields and predictions, confirming that 20Ne is a viable tool for future nuclear astrophysics research. This successful test paves the way for more precise independent measurements of fusion cross sections that occur deep within stellar interiors.
[1] S. Hayakawa, S. Typel, M. La Cognata, et al., "Validity test of 20Ne as a Trojan Horse nucleus toward the measurement of the 16O+16O fusion cross section", Eur. Phys. J. A (2026) 62:13.
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