Advancing Underground Nuclear Astrophysics with CASPAR

The advancement of experimental nuclear astrophysics techniques and the requirement of astrophysical network models for further nuclear data over greater energy ranges, has led to the requirement for the better understanding of nuclear reactions in stellar burning regimes. For those reactions of importance to stellar burning processes and elemental production through stellar nucleosynthesis, the energy range of astrophysical interest is always problematic to probe. As reaction measurements approach the burning window of interest, the rapid drop off in cross-section hampers laboratory investigation. The natural background suppression of underground accelerator facilities enables the extension of current experimental data to lower energies. An example of such reactions of interest are those thought to be sources of neutrons for the s-process, the major production mechanism for elements above the iron peak. The reactions $^{13}$C($\alpha $,n)$^{16}$O and $^{22}$Ne($\alpha $,n)$^{25}$Mg are the proposed initial focus of the new nuclear astrophysics accelerator laboratory (CASPAR) currently under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, SD.