A new study of the 14N(p,γ)15O reaction at low energy Original Research Article

Precise knowledge of nuclear cross sections at stellar energies is of importance for cosmology as well as for nuclear astrophysics. Measuring these cross sections at the relevant energies is quite challenging not only for the extremely low cross sections involved but also because a lot of parameters like stopping powers and electron screening are not well known at low energies. The LUNA collaboration has installed a second high current accelerator of 400kV at the underground laboratory of Gran Sasso. It is dedicated to measure the cross section of charged particle induced nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest at energies far below the respective Coulomb barrier and possibly close or within the associated Gamow energy.