Study of the 44Ti(α,p)47V reaction rate using high precision 50Cr(p,t)48Cr measurements

Abstract

Formed in a region where most material is captured onto the compact object remaining at the end of the collapse, the observation of 44Ti offers the best diagnostic tool for Core-Collapse Supernovae. The destruction of 44Ti is controlled by the 44Ti(α,p)47V reaction. Direct measurements are challenging due to the low cross sections and radioactive ion beam intensities so statistical models are used to predict reaction rates. Predictions forα-induced reactions on N=Z nuclei might not be reliable due to the lower effective level density inthe compound nucleus. High resolution 0◦ 50Cr(p,t)48Cr measurements were performedusing the K600 magnetic spectrometer at iThemba LABS to identify natural parity levels in 48Cr. The number of levels observed was compared to level-density calculations, indicating a theoretical overestimation of the level density. Further work is required to better understand the implications of this for the reaction rate.