Eur. Phys. J. A (2009) 39: 179-186
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2008-10706-3

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

Ultra-sensitive in-beam -ray spectroscopy for nuclear astrophysics at LUNA

¹ INFN, Sezione di Padova, Padova, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
³ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova and INFN Sezione di Genova, Genova, Italy
⁴ Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
⁵ Istituto di Fisica Generale Applicata, Università di Milano and INFN Sezione di Milano, Milano, Italy
⁶ ATOMKI, Debrecen, Hungary
⁷ INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Assergi, Italy
⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica Sperimentale, Università di Torino and INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy
⁹ Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Napoli, Italy
¹⁰ Institut für Experimentalphysik III, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
¹¹ Osservatorio Astronomico di Collurania, Teramo, Italy
¹² Seconda Università di Napoli, Caserta, Italy
¹³ INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Italy

^* e-mail: d.bemmerer@fzd.de

Received: 23 July 2008
Revised: 11 November 2008
Accepted: 15 December 2008
Published online: 21 January 2009

Abstract

Ultra-sensitive in-beam -ray spectroscopy studies for nuclear astrophysics are performed at the LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics) 400 kV accelerator, deep underground in Italy’s Gran Sasso laboratory. By virtue of a specially constructed passive shield, the laboratory -ray background for < 3 MeV at LUNA has been reduced to levels comparable to those experienced in dedicated offline underground -counting setups. The -ray background induced by an incident -beam has been studied. The data are used to evaluate the feasibility of sensitive in-beam experiments at LUNA and, by extension, at similar proposed facilities.