Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process

J. Bishop; C. E. Parker; G. V. Rogachev; S. Ahn; E. Koshchiy; K. Brandenburg; C. R. Brune; R. J. Charity; J. Derkin; N. Dronchi; G. Hamad; Y. Jones-alberty; Tz. Kokalova; T. N. Massey; Z. Meisel; E. V. Ohstrom; S. N. Paneru; E. C. Pollacco; M. Saxena; N. Singh; R. Smith; L. G. Sobotka; D. Soltesz; S. K. Subedi; A. V. Voinov; J. Warren; C. Wheldon

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7

Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process

J. Bishop, C. E. Parker, G. V. Rogachev, S. Ahn, E. Koshchiy, K. Brandenburg, C. R. Brune, R. J. Charity, J. Derkin, N. Dronchi, G. Hamad, Y. Jones-alberty, Tz. Kokalova, T. N. Massey, Z. Meisel, E. V. Ohstrom, S. N. Paneru, E. C. Pollacco, M. Saxena, N. SinghR. Smith, L. G. Sobotka, D. Soltesz, S. K. Subedi, A. V. Voinov, J. Warren, C. Wheldon

Physics and Astronomy

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Abstract

The neutron inelastic scattering of carbon-12, populating the Hoyle state, is a reaction of interest for the triple-alpha process. The inverse process (neutron upscattering) can enhance the Hoyle state’s decay rate to the bound states of ¹²C, effectively increasing the overall triple-alpha reaction rate. The cross section of this reaction is impossible to measure experimentally but has been determined here at astrophysically-relevant energies using detailed balance. Using a highly-collimated monoenergetic beam, here we measure neutrons incident on the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) filled with CO₂ gas, we measure the 3α-particles (arising from the decay of the Hoyle state following inelastic scattering) and a cross section is extracted. Here we show the neutron-upscattering enhancement is observed to be much smaller than previously expected. The importance of the neutron-upscattering enhancement may therefore not be significant aside from in very particular astrophysical sites (e.g. neutron star mergers).

Original language	English
Article number	2151
Number of pages	5
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
Early online date	20 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science (under awards no. DE-FG02-93ER40773 (J.B., G.V.R., S.A., E.K.), DE-FG02-88ER40387 (K.B., C.R.B., G.H., Y.J.A., T.N.M., Z.M., S.P., M.S., N.S., D.S, S.S., A.V.V., J.W.), DE-SC0019042 (Z.M., M.S., N.S., D.S.), DE-NA0003883 (C.R.B., Y.J.A., T.N.M., S.P., J.W.), DE-NA0003909 (K.B., Z.M., A.V.V.), DE-FG02-87ER-40316 (R.J.C., N.D. and L.G.S.), by National Nuclear Security Administration through the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University-Based Research (CENTAUR) under grant number DE-NA0003841 (J.B., C.E.P., G.V.R., S.A., E.K., N.D., E.V.O., L.G.S.) and by the UK STFC Network+ Award Grant number ST/N00244X/1 (Tz.K., R.S., and C.W.). This work also benefited from support by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-1430152 (JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements). G.V.R. also acknowledges the support of the Nuclear Solutions Institute.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

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Bishop, J., Parker, C. E., Rogachev, G. V., Ahn, S., Koshchiy, E., Brandenburg, K., Brune, C. R., Charity, R. J., Derkin, J., Dronchi, N., Hamad, G., Jones-alberty, Y., Kokalova, T., Massey, T. N., Meisel, Z., Ohstrom, E. V., Paneru, S. N., Pollacco, E. C., Saxena, M., ... Wheldon, C. (2022). Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process. Nature Communications, 13(1), Article 2151. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7

@article{1efe0c5c065145cb9b76095812b3df92,

title = "Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process",

abstract = "The neutron inelastic scattering of carbon-12, populating the Hoyle state, is a reaction of interest for the triple-alpha process. The inverse process (neutron upscattering) can enhance the Hoyle state{\textquoteright}s decay rate to the bound states of 12C, effectively increasing the overall triple-alpha reaction rate. The cross section of this reaction is impossible to measure experimentally but has been determined here at astrophysically-relevant energies using detailed balance. Using a highly-collimated monoenergetic beam, here we measure neutrons incident on the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) filled with CO2 gas, we measure the 3α-particles (arising from the decay of the Hoyle state following inelastic scattering) and a cross section is extracted. Here we show the neutron-upscattering enhancement is observed to be much smaller than previously expected. The importance of the neutron-upscattering enhancement may therefore not be significant aside from in very particular astrophysical sites (e.g. neutron star mergers).",

author = "J. Bishop and Parker, {C. E.} and Rogachev, {G. V.} and S. Ahn and E. Koshchiy and K. Brandenburg and Brune, {C. R.} and Charity, {R. J.} and J. Derkin and N. Dronchi and G. Hamad and Y. Jones-alberty and Tz. Kokalova and Massey, {T. N.} and Z. Meisel and Ohstrom, {E. V.} and Paneru, {S. N.} and Pollacco, {E. C.} and M. Saxena and N. Singh and R. Smith and Sobotka, {L. G.} and D. Soltesz and Subedi, {S. K.} and Voinov, {A. V.} and J. Warren and C. Wheldon",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science (under awards no. DE-FG02-93ER40773 (J.B., G.V.R., S.A., E.K.), DE-FG02-88ER40387 (K.B., C.R.B., G.H., Y.J.A., T.N.M., Z.M., S.P., M.S., N.S., D.S, S.S., A.V.V., J.W.), DE-SC0019042 (Z.M., M.S., N.S., D.S.), DE-NA0003883 (C.R.B., Y.J.A., T.N.M., S.P., J.W.), DE-NA0003909 (K.B., Z.M., A.V.V.), DE-FG02-87ER-40316 (R.J.C., N.D. and L.G.S.), by National Nuclear Security Administration through the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University-Based Research (CENTAUR) under grant number DE-NA0003841 (J.B., C.E.P., G.V.R., S.A., E.K., N.D., E.V.O., L.G.S.) and by the UK STFC Network+ Award Grant number ST/N00244X/1 (Tz.K., R.S., and C.W.). This work also benefited from support by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-1430152 (JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements). G.V.R. also acknowledges the support of the Nuclear Solutions Institute. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Springer",

number = "1",

}

Bishop, J, Parker, CE, Rogachev, GV, Ahn, S, Koshchiy, E, Brandenburg, K, Brune, CR, Charity, RJ, Derkin, J, Dronchi, N, Hamad, G, Jones-alberty, Y, Kokalova, T, Massey, TN, Meisel, Z, Ohstrom, EV, Paneru, SN, Pollacco, EC, Saxena, M, Singh, N, Smith, R, Sobotka, LG, Soltesz, D, Subedi, SK, Voinov, AV, Warren, J & Wheldon, C 2022, 'Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process', Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 2151. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process

AU - Bishop, J.

AU - Parker, C. E.

AU - Rogachev, G. V.

AU - Ahn, S.

AU - Koshchiy, E.

AU - Brandenburg, K.

AU - Brune, C. R.

AU - Charity, R. J.

AU - Derkin, J.

AU - Dronchi, N.

AU - Hamad, G.

AU - Jones-alberty, Y.

AU - Kokalova, Tz.

AU - Massey, T. N.

AU - Meisel, Z.

AU - Ohstrom, E. V.

AU - Paneru, S. N.

AU - Pollacco, E. C.

AU - Saxena, M.

AU - Singh, N.

AU - Smith, R.

AU - Sobotka, L. G.

AU - Soltesz, D.

AU - Subedi, S. K.

AU - Voinov, A. V.

AU - Warren, J.

AU - Wheldon, C.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science (under awards no. DE-FG02-93ER40773 (J.B., G.V.R., S.A., E.K.), DE-FG02-88ER40387 (K.B., C.R.B., G.H., Y.J.A., T.N.M., Z.M., S.P., M.S., N.S., D.S, S.S., A.V.V., J.W.), DE-SC0019042 (Z.M., M.S., N.S., D.S.), DE-NA0003883 (C.R.B., Y.J.A., T.N.M., S.P., J.W.), DE-NA0003909 (K.B., Z.M., A.V.V.), DE-FG02-87ER-40316 (R.J.C., N.D. and L.G.S.), by National Nuclear Security Administration through the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University-Based Research (CENTAUR) under grant number DE-NA0003841 (J.B., C.E.P., G.V.R., S.A., E.K., N.D., E.V.O., L.G.S.) and by the UK STFC Network+ Award Grant number ST/N00244X/1 (Tz.K., R.S., and C.W.). This work also benefited from support by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-1430152 (JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements). G.V.R. also acknowledges the support of the Nuclear Solutions Institute. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - The neutron inelastic scattering of carbon-12, populating the Hoyle state, is a reaction of interest for the triple-alpha process. The inverse process (neutron upscattering) can enhance the Hoyle state’s decay rate to the bound states of 12C, effectively increasing the overall triple-alpha reaction rate. The cross section of this reaction is impossible to measure experimentally but has been determined here at astrophysically-relevant energies using detailed balance. Using a highly-collimated monoenergetic beam, here we measure neutrons incident on the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) filled with CO2 gas, we measure the 3α-particles (arising from the decay of the Hoyle state following inelastic scattering) and a cross section is extracted. Here we show the neutron-upscattering enhancement is observed to be much smaller than previously expected. The importance of the neutron-upscattering enhancement may therefore not be significant aside from in very particular astrophysical sites (e.g. neutron star mergers).

AB - The neutron inelastic scattering of carbon-12, populating the Hoyle state, is a reaction of interest for the triple-alpha process. The inverse process (neutron upscattering) can enhance the Hoyle state’s decay rate to the bound states of 12C, effectively increasing the overall triple-alpha reaction rate. The cross section of this reaction is impossible to measure experimentally but has been determined here at astrophysically-relevant energies using detailed balance. Using a highly-collimated monoenergetic beam, here we measure neutrons incident on the Texas Active Target Time Projection Chamber (TexAT TPC) filled with CO2 gas, we measure the 3α-particles (arising from the decay of the Hoyle state following inelastic scattering) and a cross section is extracted. Here we show the neutron-upscattering enhancement is observed to be much smaller than previously expected. The importance of the neutron-upscattering enhancement may therefore not be significant aside from in very particular astrophysical sites (e.g. neutron star mergers).

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128562208&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7

DO - 10.1038/s41467-022-29848-7

M3 - Article

C2 - 35444209

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 13

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 2151

ER -

Neutron-upscattering enhancement of the triple-alpha process

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