Identification of key astrophysical resonances relevant for the 26g Al(p,gamma)27Si reaction in Wolf-Rayet stars, AGB stars, and classical novae

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Apr 24;102(16):162502. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.162502. Epub 2009 Apr 22.

Abstract

A gamma-ray spectroscopy study of ;{26g}Al+p resonant states in 27Si is presented. Excitation energies were measured with improved precision and first spin-parity assignments made for excited states in 27Si above the proton threshold. The results indicate the presence of low-lying resonances with l_{p}=0 and l_{p}=2 captures that could strongly influence the ;{26g}Al(p,gamma)27Si reaction rate at low stellar temperatures, found in low-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB), intermediate-mass AGB, super AGB, and Wolf-Rayet stars.