Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the heavy-ion particle identification in an experiment designed to determine the astrophysical rate of the 15O(α,γ)19Ne reaction.
The 15O(α,γ)19Ne reaction is one of two recognized pathways for breakout from the hot CNO cycle into the rp-process, which consists of consecutive proton captures onto seed nuclei to produce heavier elements. Understanding this reaction is crucial for elucidating the dynamics of X-ray bursts. To measure the branching ratios of α and γ decays, which determine the reaction rate of 15O(α,γ). The experiment involves populating excited states in 19Ne using the 21Ne(p, t)19Ne reaction. In this study, we measure the decay branching ratios of excited states in 19Ne by passing the decay products through a magnetic dipole and a set of Phoswich detectors. These detectors are capable of detecting heavy-ions. For obtaining accurate data on reaction rates and branching ratios, it is essential to accurately identify heavy-ion particles. This research aims to advance our knowledge of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements and offer important insights into the fundamental processes governing the behaviour of atomic nuclei by demonstrating conclusive isotope separation and identification in the phoswich detectors.