Nuclear astrophysics in underground laboratories

Abstract

Abstract Nuclear processes are responsible for energy generation that makes stars shine, for the synthesis of the elements in stars and also play a decisive role in explaining the chemical composition of the interstellar medium. The experimental determination of the reaction cross section at the astrophysical relevant energies is extremely difficult due to the Coulomb repulsion between the interacting nuclei which turns out in cross section values down to the fbar level. As a result, these cross sections are often too small to be measured in laboratories on the Earth’s surface, where the signal would be overwhelmed by the cosmic-ray induced background. An effective way to suppress the comic-ray induced background is to perform experiments in underground laboratories. LUNA is an experimental approach for the study of nuclear fusion reactions based on an underground accelerator laboratory. Aim of the experiment is the direct measurement of the cross section of nuclear reactions relevant for stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis. In the following the latest results and the future goals will be presented.