Study of explosive hydrogen burning in the universe using 3He beams

Stellar nuclear reactions in explosive hydrogen burning (rp-) process were investigated experimentally using a variety of 3He-induced direct nuclear reactions, resulting in discoveries of new resonances crucial to the rp-process. Three important aspects of the 3He-induced direct reactions are stressed here for the study of the rp-process; (i) they are useful to find new resonances and learn the property of proton-rich unstable nuclei, (ii) the (3He,d) reaction, specifically, can be used to deduce proton decay widths of the proton resonances important for the rp-process, and (iii) polarized 3He beams will enhance the capability of (i) in determining the spin-parity uniquely, reducing ambiguities in the reaction rates of the rp-process.