New measurement of the Ec.m.=323 keV resonance in the F19(p,γ)Ne20 reaction

At temperatures below 0.1 GK, the F19(p,γ)Ne20 reaction is the only breakout path out of the CNO cycle. Experimental studies of this reaction are challenging from a technical perspective due to copious γ-ray background from the far stronger F19(p,α)O16 reaction channel. Here, we present the first inverse kinematics study of the F19(p,γ)Ne20 reaction, in which we measure the strength of the 323-keV resonance. We find a strength value of ωγ=3.3−0.9+1.1 meV, which is a factor of two larger than the most recent previous study. The discrepancy is likely the result of a direct to ground state transition which previous studies were not sensitive to. We also observe the transition to the first 2− state, which has not been observed for this resonance in previous studies. A new thermonuclear reaction rate is calculated and compared with the literature.