Underground study of the O 17 (p, γ) F 18 reaction relevant for explosive hydrogen burning

The 17O(p,γ )18F reaction affects the production of key isotopes (e.g., 18F and 18O) in the explosive hydrogen burning that powers classical novae. Under these explosive conditions, the reaction rateis dominated by contributions from a narrow resonance at Ec.m.= 183 keV and by the combined contributions of direct capture and low-energy tails of broad resonances. At present, the astrophysical reaction rateis not well constrained because of the lack of data in the energy region appropriate to classical novae.