Experimental evidence of a natural parity state in $^{26}$Mg and its impact to the production of neutrons for the s process

TL;DR

This study identifies a natural parity state in $^{26}$Mg with improved energy resolution, impacting neutron production rates crucial for the astrophysical s-process, potentially altering stellar nucleosynthesis models.

Contribution

The paper reports the first observation of a natural parity state in $^{26}$Mg using an improved experimental method, refining the understanding of stellar neutron sources.

Findings

Natural parity state observed in $^{26}$Mg.

Reduced stellar rate of $^{22}$Ne($eta$,$ extgamma$)$^{26}$Mg.

Potential increase in s-process neutron production.

Abstract

We have studied natural parity states in $^{26}$Mg via the $^{22}$Ne($^{6}$Li,d)$^{26}$Mg reaction. Our method significantly improves the energy resolution of previous experiments and, as a result, we report the observation of a natural parity state in $^{26}$Mg. Possible spin-parity assignments are suggested on the basis of published $\gamma$-ray decay experiments. The stellar rate of the $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$,$\gamma$)$^{26}$Mg reaction is reduced and may give rise to an increase in the production of s-process neutrons via the $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$,n)$^{25}$Mg reaction.