Search for <sup>22</sup>Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37669984.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-40121-3 and PMC identifier 10480179.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of <sup>26</sup>Al and <sup>22</sup>Na. While γ rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, <sup>22</sup>Na remains untraceable. Its half-life (2.6 yr) would allow the observation of its 1.275 MeV γ-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of its nucleosynthesis. The <sup>22</sup>Na(p, γ)<sup>23</sup>Mg reaction remains the only source of large uncertainty about the amount of <sup>22</sup>Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in <sup>23</sup>Mg. Here, we propose a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and velocity-difference profiles to measure femtosecond nuclear lifetimes. The application of this method to the study of the <sup>23</sup>Mg states, places strong limits on the amount of <sup>22</sup>Na produced in novae and constrains its detectability with future space-borne observatories.