Gamma-ray width measurements in 15N at the ELBE nuclear resonance fluorescence setup

The stable nucleus 15N is the mirror of the astrophysically important 15O, compound nucleus of the leading reaction of the Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle of hydrogen burning. Most of the 15N level widths below the neutron and proton emission thresholds are known from just one nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) measurement published more than 30 years ago, with unsatisfactory precision on some cases [1]. A recent experiment with the AGATA demonstrator array aimed to determine level widths with the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method (DSAM) in 15O and 15N populated in 14N + 2H reaction. In order to set a benchmark value for the upcoming AGATA demonstrator data, the widths of several 15N levels are being studied using the bremsstrahlung facility γELBE at the electron accelerator of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). The γELBE experiment and its preliminary results will be presented. – Supported by the Helmholtz Association (HGF) through the Nuclear Astrophysics Virtual Institute (HGF VH-VI-417).

[1] R. Moreh et al., Physical Review C 23, 988 (1981)