Speaker
Description
Proton-induced inelastic scattering to the $^{12}$C Hoyle state (7.654 MeV), which de-excites $^{12}$C to its ground state by carrying away the excitation energy — a process known as "upscattering" — may enhance the stellar triple-alpha process by up to orders of magnitude. The triple-alpha enhancement was predicted using previous measurements of the time-reversed reaction $^{12}$C($p$,$p'$)$^{12}$C$^*$(HS) covering proton energies up to ~2.3 MeV above the Hoyle-state threshold, while the cross section in the higher-energy region relied on Hauser-Feshbach calculations. Using AToM-X, the active-target TPC developed at the Center for Exotic Nuclear Studies (CENS), with 8–18 MeV proton beams, we plan to extend the $^{12}$C($p$,$p'$)3$\alpha$ cross-section measurement up to ~10 MeV above the Hoyle-state threshold and determine the resulting triple-alpha enhancement. A main challenge in this experiment lies in reconstructing the three-alpha events and distinguishing them from background reactions. To address this, we present an analysis using Geant4 simulations to identify the three-alpha tracks.
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