Measuring $^{19,20}$O(p,n)$^{19,20}$F reactions using an active target detector

TL;DR

This paper reports on measuring the (p,n) reactions on $^{19,20}$O using an active target detector, providing insights into proton fusion cross-sections at specific energies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis method to extract proton fusion cross-sections from inverse kinematics measurements with an active target detector.

Findings

Successful measurement of (p,n) cross sections on $^{19,20}$O.

Development of an analysis approach for proton fusion cross-section extraction.

Abstract

Proton capture on $^{19,20}$O nuclei is measured in inverse kinematics with the active target detector MuSIC@Indiana using CH$_4$ as the target gas. Rejection of unreacted and inelastically scattered beam, along with transfer and fusion on the $^{12}$C allows extraction of the (p,n) cross section. As the cross-section for direct (p,n) processes at these energies is small, the measurement provides access to the proton fusion cross-section. An analysis approach that allows extraction of the proton fusion cross-section is detailed.