Stellar (n,γ) rates of 179Ta and 180mTa: Clues for the origin of nature's rarest stable isotope?

For almost three decades, the origin of 180mTa, the rarest stable isotope in nature and the only one which is stable in the isomeric state, remained an intriguing astrophysical puzzle. This case is particularly appealing since it may be used to test several proposed production mechanisms. So far, the 180mTa abundances claimed by the various models are limited by uncertainties in the underlying nuclear physics data. This contribution reports on first attempts to determine the stellar (n,γ)-rates of 179Ta and 180mTa experimentally. These results represent a significant improvement with respect to a possible production of 180mTa via neutron capture nucleosynthesis during He-burning in Red Giant stars. In both experiments, present techniques had to be pushed to their limits, be it for the short half-life of 179Ta or for the very low enrichment of the available 180mTa sample