Properties of states in \textsuperscript{19}Ne important for the \textsuperscript{18}F$(p,α)$\textsuperscript{15}O reaction rate
nucl-ex
/ Authors
K. H. Pham, D. Mumma, C. M. Deibel, L. T. Baby, J. C. Blackmon, K. D. Launey, K. T. Macon, G. W. McCann, B. Sudarsan, I. Wiedenhöver
and 15 more authors
S. Ajayi, C. Benetti, A. Bhardwaj, W. Braverman, K. Davis, J. C. Esparza, K. Hanselman, D. He, S. Lopez-Caceres, E. Lopez-Saavedra, M. McLain, A. B. Morelock, V. Sitaraman, E. Temanson, C. Wibisono
/ Abstract
Observation of the 511-keV positron-annihilation line would be a powerful probe of classical novae, with the primary source of positrons likely from the $β^+$ decay of \textsuperscript{18}F. We have determined the properties of important resonances in $^{19}$Ne which govern the \textsuperscript{18}F($p,α$)\textsuperscript{15}O reaction rate and the production of \textsuperscript{18}F in novae. Measured $α$ and proton angular distributions from states populated in the \textsuperscript{19}F(\textsuperscript{3}He,$t$)\textsuperscript{19}Ne reaction identified six near-threshold proton $s$-wave \textsuperscript{18}F$+p$ ($L_p=0$) states, and the asymptotic normalization of these states was studied using the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model. We have improved our understanding of states contributing to the \textsuperscript{18}F($p,α$)\textsuperscript{15}O reaction rate and show that earlier studies significantly underestimated the uncertainties.