Study of the Alm26(d,p)Al27 Reaction and the Influence of the Al26 0+ Isomer on the Destruction of Al26 in the Galaxy

The existence of ²⁶Al (t_1/2 = 7.17 × 10⁵ yr) in the interstellar medium provides a direct confirmation of ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. The presence of a low-lying 0⁺ isomer (²⁶Al^m), however, severely complicates the astrophysical calculations. Here we present for the first time a study of the ²⁶Al^m (d, p)²⁷ Al reaction using an isomeric ²⁶Al beam. The selectivity of this reaction allowed the study of ℓ = 0 transfers to T = 1/2, and T = 3/2 states in ²⁷Al . Mirror symmetry arguments were then used to constrain the ²⁶Al ^m (p,γ) ²⁷Si reaction rate and provide an experimentally determined upper limit of the rate for the destruction of isomeric ²⁶Al via radiative proton capture reactions, which is expected to dominate the destruction path of ²⁶Al^m in asymptotic giant branch stars, classical novae, and core collapse supernovae.