Studying synthesis of Hg-196 through measurement of capture reaction cross-section of (p, $\gamma$), (p, n) and (p, $\alpha$) reactions.

The p-nuclei (proton-rich nuclei) are among the rarest of all the known stable nuclei. Although majority of nuclei heavier than iron are produced by neutron capture processes, p-nuclei cannot be produced by any of those processes. The astrophysical processes responsible for the synthesis of p-nuclei are not fully understood. Of the 35 known p-nuclei, the heaviest is Hg-196. The synthesis of Hg-196 is studied through the method of activation using (p, $\gamma )$, (p, n) and (p, $\alpha )$ reactions. A mono-energetic beam of proton is incident on a homogeneously thin, solid HgS (mercury sulfide) target of \textasciitilde 10 mg/cm$^{2}$ thickness and capture reaction cross-sections are measured for each reactions mentioned above. The specific kind of required mercury target has been developed using the drop-casting method, at ambient temperature and pressure. The production methods are described along with the experimental method resulting in a self-calibrating activation experiment.