Direct measurements of astrophysically important $\alpha$-induced reactions

Understanding stellar evolution is one of the primary objectives of nuclear astrophysics. Reaction rates involving $\alpha$-particles are often key nuclear physics inputs in stellar models. For instance, there are numerous $(\alpha,p)$ reactions fundamental for the understanding of X-ray bursts and the production of $^{44}$Ti in core-collapse supernovae. Furthermore, some $(\alpha,n)$ reactions are considered as one of the main neutron sources in the s-process. However, direct measurements of these reactions at relevant astrophysical energies are experimentally challenging because of their small cross section and intensity limitation of radioactive beams. The active target system MUSIC offers a unique opportunity to study $(\alpha,p)$ and $(\alpha,n)$ reactions because its segmented anode allows the investigation of a large energy range in the excitation function with a single measurement. Recent results on the direct measurement of $(\alpha,n)$ and $(\alpha, p)$ measurements in the MUSIC detector will be discussed.