Improved information on astrophysical S-factor for the 10B(p,α0)7Be reaction using the Trojan Horse method

The 10B(p,α0)7Be reaction has been studied by applying the Trojan Horse method to the 2H(10B,α0 7Be)n reaction. The bare-nucleus astrophysical S(E)-factor in absolute units was extracted in a wide energy range, from 2.2 MeV to 3 keV and normalized to the direct experimental data, thus allowing determination of the electron screening potential for which a value of Ue=391±74 eV was obtained

On the magnitude of the 8Li + 4He → 11B + n reaction cross section at the Big-Bang temperature

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The 19F(α, p)22Ne and 23Na(p,α)20Ne reaction in AGB nucleosynthesis via THM

In AGB environment, fluorine and sodium abundances are still matter of debate. About 19F (only stable isotope of fluorine), its abundance in the universe is strictly related to standard and extra-mixing processes taking place inside AGB-stars, that are considered to be the most important sites for its production. Nevertheless the way in which it is destroyed is far from being well understood. On the other hand, 23Na presence in Globular Clusters, along with is well-known anticorrelation with oxygen has made clear that this element must be produced in previous generations stars, and intermediatemass AGB stars are one of the possible candidates for its production. For this reason we studied the 19F(α,p)22Ne and 23Na(p,α)20Ne reactions in the energy range of relevance for astrophysics via the Trojan Horse Method (THM), using the three-body reactions 6Li(19F, p22Ne)d and 23Na(d, pn)20Ne

Study of 3He(n,p)3H reaction at cosmological energies with trojan horse method

In the network of reactions present in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the 3He(n, p)3H has an important role which impacts the final 7Li abundance. The Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been applied to the 3He(d, pt)H reaction in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor of the 3He(n, p)3H in the Gamow energy range. The experiment will be described in the present work together with the first preliminary results

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Light element burning reactions at stellar temperatures in view of the recent THM measurements

The direct measurements of nuclear reaction cross sections at astrophysical energies are usually difficult to be performed in terrestrial laboratories, mainly because of the Coulomb barrier. An alternative way of studying these processes is via the indirect methods among which the Trojan Horse (THM) represents a powerful tool for studying charged-particles induced reactions at astrophysically energies without the need of extrapolation procedures. The recent THM studies about the lithium and boron destroying reactions will be here shown and discussed

Resonance Strength Measurement at Astrophysical Energies: The 17O(p,α)14N Reaction Studied via THM

In recent years, the Trojan Horse Method (THM) has been used to investigate the low-energy cross sections of proton-induced reactions on 17O nuclei, overcoming extrapolation procedures and enhancement effects due to electron screening. We will report on the indirect study of the 17O(p,α)14N reaction via the Trojan Horse Method by applying the approach developed for extracting the resonance strength of narrow resonance in the ultralow energy region. The mean value of the strengths obtained in the two measurements was calculated and compared with the direct data available in literature

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A measurement of the 12C(14N,α20Ne)2H and 12C(14N,p23Na)2Hreactions has been performed at a 14N beam energy of 30.0 MeV. The experiment aims to explore the extent to which contributing 24Mg excited states can be populated in the quasi-free reaction off the deuteron in 14N. In particular, the 24Mg excitation region explored in the measurement plays a key role in stellar carbon burning whose cross section is commonly determined by extrapolating high-energy fusion data. From preliminary results, α and proton channels are clearly identified. In particular, ground and first excited states of 20Ne and 23Na play a major role