# A New Approach to Determine Radiative Capture Reaction Rates at Astrophysical Energies

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method using advanced accelerators and detailed balance to measure stellar radiative capture reaction rates, notably reducing uncertainties in the $^{12}$C$( ext{alpha}, ext{gamma})^{16}$O reaction crucial for stellar evolution models.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a new experimental approach leveraging high current ERLs and detailed balance to precisely determine astrophysical radiative capture rates.

## Key findings

- Formalism relating photo- and electro-disintegration reactions
- Design considerations for optimal experiments with ERLs
- Potential to reduce rate measurement uncertainties to below 20%

## Abstract

Radiative capture reactions play a crucial role in stellar nucleosynthesis but have proved challenging to determine experimentally. In particular, the large uncertainty ($\sim$100%) in the measured rate of the $^{12}$C$(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}$O reaction is the largest source of uncertainty in any stellar evolution model. With development of new high current energy-recovery linear accelerators (ERLs) and high density gas targets, measurement of the $^{16}$O$(e,e^\prime \alpha)^{12}$C reaction close to threshold using detailed balance opens up a new approach to determine the $^{12}$C$(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}$O reaction rate with significantly increased precision ($<$20%). We present the formalism to relate photo- and electro-disintegration reactions and consider the design of an optimal experiment to deliver increased precision. Once the new ERLs come online, an experiment to validate the new approach we propose should be carried out. This new approach has broad applicability to radiative capture reactions in astrophysics.