Indirect measurement of the reaction cross section and the implications for astrophysical Zr production
Phys. Rev. C 112, 065803 – Published 9 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/91xj-284t
Abstract
The intermediate neutron-capture process ( process) has gained notable traction within the past decade as a way to describe stellar abundance observations which cannot be explained by the slow and rapid neutron-capture processes. Despite the general success of -process models, many open questions remain. Among the observations, Zr stands out, as its elemental abundance is difficult to replicate with available -process models, while the reactions that affect its production through the process are close enough to stability to study experimentally. Here, we present the experimental constraint of the nuclear level density and -strength function () of using the -Oslo method, which were then input into the TALYS Hauser-Feshbach code to produce the first experimental constraint of the capture reaction. This constraint was used alongside that of for a reduction in the uncertainty of [Y/Zr] production in the -process relevant environmental neutron density of and .