Impact of the Al-26m(p, gamma) Reaction to Galactic Al-26 Yield

Astrophysical observables that are directly linked to nuclear physics inputs provide critical and stringent constraints on nucleosynthetic models. As Al-26 was the first specific radioactivity observed in the Galaxy, its origin has fascinated the nuclear astrophysics community for nearly forty years. Despite extensive research, the precise origins of Al-26 remain elusive. At present, the sum of all putative stellar contributions generally overestimates the Al-26 mass in the interstellar medium. Among the many reactions that influence the yield of Al-26, radiative proton capture on its isomer Al-26m is one of the least constrained reactions by experimental data. To this end, we developed a Al-26 isomeric beam and performed proton elastic scattering to search for low-spin states in Si-27. The experimental method and the preliminary results of this on-going study will be presented.