Measurement Of The Zr-91(P,Gamma)Nb-92m Cross Section Motivated By Type Ia Supernova Nucleosynthesis

The synthesis of heavy, proton rich isotopes is a poorly understood astrophysical process. Thermonuclear (type Ia) supernova explosions are among the suggested sites and the abundance of some isotopes present in the early Solar System may be used to test the models. Nb-92 is such an isotope and one of the reactions playing a role in its synthesis is Zr-91(p,gamma)Nb-92. As no experimental cross sections were available for this reaction so far, nucleosynthesis models had to solely rely on theoretical calculations. In the present work the cross section of Zr-91(p,gamma)Nb-92m has been measured at astrophysical energies by activation. The results excellently confirm the predictions of cross sections and reaction rates for Zr-91(p,gamma)Nb-92, as used in astrophysical simulations.