Strength of the $E_{\text{cm}} = 1113$ keV resonance in $^{20}${Ne}$(p, \gamma)^{21}${Na}

TL;DR

This paper measures the strength of a key resonance in the $^{20}$Ne$(p, \gamma)^{21}$Na reaction, clarifying previous misinterpretations and providing a more accurate value crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis models.

Contribution

The study provides a new measurement of the $E_{ ext{cm}} = 1113$ keV resonance strength using the DRAGON spectrometer, correcting the frame of reference for the previously accepted value.

Findings

The measured resonance strength is $0.972 \\pm 0.11$ eV.

The new measurement aligns with the accepted value when properly accounting for the frame.

Clarifies the importance of frame considerations in resonance strength measurements.

Abstract

The $^{20}$Ne$(p, \gamma)^{21}$Na reaction is the starting point of the NeNa cycle, which is an important process for the production of intermediate mass elements. The $E_{\text{cm}} = 1113$ keV resonance plays an important role in the determination of stellar rates for this reaction since it is used to normalize experimental direct capture yields at lower energies. The commonly accepted strength of this resonance, $\omega \gamma = 1.13 \pm 0.07$ eV, has been misinterpreted as the strength in the center-of-mass frame when it is actually the strength in the laboratory frame. This has motivated a new measurement of the $E_{\text{cm}} = 1113$ keV resonance strength in $^{20}$Ne$(p, \gamma)^{21}$Na using the DRAGON recoil mass spectrometer. The DRAGON result, $0.972 \pm 0.11$ eV, is in good agreement with the accepted value when both are calculated in the same frame of reference.