Proton-Induced Reactions of Astrophysical Interest

Abstract

A discrepancy exists between the 6Li abundances predicted from big bang nucleosynthesis models and those measured in pre-main sequence stars. To further constrain the predicted abundances of 6Li in these stars, high accuracy measurements are required of reactions destroying 6Li. Namely 6Li(p,γ)7Be and 6Li(p,α) 3He. These have recently been studied at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) to measure their low energy cross sections. I present both the campaign’s experimental setup and current status of the data analysis.