Cross Section Measurements of ⁸⁴Kr(p,γ)⁸⁵Rb

Understanding how the p-nuclei are created is an important step in learning more about the creation of the heavy isotopes; specifically, isotopes on the proton-rich side of stability. Besides identifying the astrophysical sites, nuclear data for these isotopes along with reaction rates are crucial for accurate simulations. Sensitivity studies have marked ⁸⁴Kr(p,γ)⁸⁵Rb as an important reaction rate; it is a branching point between the (p,γ) and (n,γ) channels. Accurate measurements of this reaction will identify the reaction flow in this mass region and may alter the final abundances of the light p-nuclei. 

The ⁸⁴Kr(p,γ)⁸⁵Rb cross section measurement was recently performed in inverse kinematics with the ReAccelerating (ReA) facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University. This was the first measurement on this reaction at astrophysically relevant energies and provided us with a stable beam to test this technique. In the future, we plan on using this technique with unstable beams where p-process cross sections have yet to be measured. Using the SuN detector and the SuNSCREEN cosmic-ray veto detector, we were able to measure the cross section at energies ranging from 2.8-3.5MeV; preliminary results will be discussed.