Underground facilities for nuclear astrophysics

Recent progress in astronomy, in many cases by satellite-based observatories, has led to much more precise astronomical data. Nuclear data with matching precision are necessary for a proper understanding of astronomical scenarios such as the big bang, stable and explosive stellar burning. In the case of nuclear reaction cross sections, precision data require measurements directly at Gamow peak energies, where the absolute value of the cross section is very low. In the present lecture, underground facilities for nuclear astrophysics are reviewed with a focus on providing cross section data. For activation studies, shallow and deep underground laboratories have been employed. Exemplary results from the Felsenkeller Dresden/Germany shallow underground laboratory and the Gran Sasso/Italy deep underground facility are shown and discussed. For in-beam gamma-spectroscopy studies, so far only the LUNA facility at Gran Sasso is available. The salient features of LUNA and some recent results are shown. The lecture ends with an outlook on currently proposed new underground accelerators in Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and Romania.