First Direct Measurement of an Astrophysical p -Process Reaction Cross Section Using a Radioactive Ion Beam

Abstract

We have performed the first direct measurement of the Rb83(p,γ) radiative capture reaction cross section in inverse kinematics using a radioactive beam of Rb83 at incident energies of 2.4 and 2.7A MeV. The measured cross section at an effective relative kinetic energy of Ecm=2.393 MeV, which lies within the relevant energy window for core collapse supernovae, is smaller than the prediction of statistical model calculations. This leads to the abundance of Sr84 produced in the astrophysical p process being higher than previously calculated. Moreover, the discrepancy of the present data with theoretical predictions indicates that further experimental investigation of p-process reactions involving unstable projectiles is clearly warranted.