Nuclear Astrophysics Deep Underground: The LUNA Experiment

At astrophysically relevant temperatures, nuclear cross-sections are extremely small and experimental measurements in a laboratory at the Earths surface are hampered by the cosmic background. The LUNA Collaboration has exploited the unique features of the rock cover offered by the LNGS underground laboratory in terms of background reduction, to study very important hydrogen (H)-burning reactions at astrophysically relevant energies. After a general introduction on the LUNA experiment, this paper reports briefly on the recently obtained results. (author)