TALYS calculation and a short review of the experimental status of proton capture studies on p-nuclei: a guide to future investigation

After Big Bang nucleosynthesis the charged particle reactions are the primary processes of nucleosynthesis till mass A ≈ 60. For the heavier elements neutron capture through s (slow) and r (rapid) process becomes the dominant process. There is a small fraction (~ 35 nuclei between Se (Z=34) to Hg (Z=80) of proton-rich nuclei which are 10-1000 times less abundant than s- or r-nuclei and cannot be synthesized through the neutron capture processes as they are on the neutron deficient side of the β-stability line. These are synthesized by a different astrophysical process, traditionally called the p-process or γ-process, and these nuclei are referred to as the p-nuclei. Few studies suggest that some of the p nuclei can also be produced in charged particle reactions. In recent years, serious efforts have been given to both theoretical and experimental investigations to understand the p-process nucleosynthesis. The cross sections of the charged particle capture reactions on p-nuclei are extremely small. To make the measurements possible in the Gamow region one needs low energy high current accelerators. FRENA at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, is going to provide us with the facility to perform such studies. Initially experiments has been carried out using the activation method which is free from beam induced backgrounds and the analysis of the low cross-section events becomes less erroneous. The experimental results has been compared with TALYS estimates as well as the previous results. This exercise has helped us to validate our experimental and analytical techniques. Once satisfied, we have to investigate the systems where very few or no data exists