Low-Background, High-Efficiency Setup for the Study of 22Ne(p, γ)23Na Reaction at Low Energy

Measuring cross sections of astrophysical interest requires a low-background, high-efficiency setup and a very pure target. The Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) developed a dedicated setup for the cross section measurement of the Ne-22(p, gamma)Na-23 reaction. A windowless gas target and a six-fold, optically segmented BGO detector surrounding the interaction volume were used. A calorimetric system was developed for the real-time measurement of the beam current. Three recently measured resonances at 156.2, 189.5 and 259.7 keV and the possible resonances at 71 and 105 keV have been investigated with high statistics. Direct capture measurements were carried out as well.