Experimental nuclear astrophysics with AMS

Full text: Radionuclides, liKEX 26Al and 44Ti, can be traced in the sky as live radioactivity. This identifies active areas in our galaxy and verifies ongoing nucleosynthesis. The relevant stellar scenarios are an essential KEXy for understanding celestial evolution. In addition, our solar system is believed to have emerged from the ashes of explosive nuclear scenarios. The evidence for supernova (SN)-produced 60Fe on earth as a signature of a recent nearby SN, and the search for other SN-produced candidates, liKEX 182Hf and 244Pu, will give an improved insight into explosive scenarios. In general, well-established data on production-rates of long-lived radionuclides, important for the various nucleosynthesis processes, are highly desired. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) represents a powerful technique for the detection of radionuclides through ultra-low isotope-ratio measurements. The Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) represents a state-of-the-art AMS facility which provides the ability for quantifying nuclides over the whole mass range. Since it offers among the highest sensitivity, AMS at VERA is predestinated for the measurement of minute concentrations of such isotopes. Lack of information exists for a list of nuclides as pointed out by nuclear-data requests. The potential of AMS as a powerful tool for probing nucleosynthesis will be demonstrated by means of some prime examples. Applications of AMS in astrophysics will be discussed and an overview on the recent measurement program at VERA for quantifying such long-lived radionuclides will be presented. (author)