Study of astrophysical α +22 Ne reaction using alpha transfer with TIARA and MDM spectrometer

In core He burning and C-shell burning of massive stars, the ²²Ne(α,n)²⁵Mg reaction is considered to be a main neutron source driving the synthesis of nuclides in the A =60-90 mass range during the s process. While a variety of attempts to experimentally determine the rate for this reaction at the Gamow window corresponding to s process temperatures have been made either through direct ²²Ne(α,n)²⁵Mg measurements or indirect measurements, uncertainties of some resonance parameters in ²⁶Mg has remained a longstanding problem. To address this problem, we performed an experiment using the ⁶Li(²²Ne,²⁶Mg) d α -transfer reaction at K150 cyclotron of Texas A&M University. A ⁶LiF target was bombarded with a 7 MeV/u ²²Ne beam. Deuterons, gamma-rays, and recoil Mg ions were detected in coincidence using a large Si detector array, TIARA, HPGe clover detectors, and an MDM spectrometer backed by an ionization chamber, respectively. Preliminary data from the experiment will be presented.