Study of the 40Ca(α,γ )44Ti reaction at stellar temperatures with DRAGON

The short-lived radionuclide ⁴⁴Ti, which has been observed in space by γ -ray astronomy, is believed to be produced in supernovae during the alpha;-rich freeze-out by α capture on ⁴⁰Ca. This reaction has been studied in inverse kinematics using the recoil mass spectrometer DRAGON at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada. A large energy range was covered corresponding to the temperature range of T9 ∼1- 2. 8 for freeze-out conditions. …