New Measurement Of The E-C.M.=323 Kev Resonance In The F-19(P, Gamma) Ne-20 Reaction

At temperatures below 0.1 GK, the F-19(p, gamma) Ne-20 reaction is the only breakout path out of the CNO cycle. Experimental studies of this reaction are challenging from a technical perspective due to copious gamma-ray background from the far stronger F-19(p, alpha) O-16 reaction channel. Here, we present the first inverse kinematics study of the F-19(p, gamma) Ne-20 reaction, in which we measure the strength of the 323-keV resonance. We find a strength value of omega gamma = 3.3(-0.9)(+1.1) meV, which is a factor of two larger than the most recent previous study. The discrepancy is likely the result of a direct to ground state transition which previous studies were not sensitive to. We also observe the transition to the first 2(-) state, which has not been observed for this resonance in previous studies. A new thermonuclear reaction rate is calculated and compared with the literature.