Prediction of astrophysical reaction rates as a challenge to nuclear physics

Abstract

Explosive nuclear burning in astrophysical environments produces unstable nuclei which again can be targets for subsequent reactions. In addition, it involves a large number of stable nuclides which are not fully explored by experiments, yet. Thus, it is necessary to be able to predict reaction cross sections and thermonuclear rates with the aid of theoretical models. Such predictions are also of interest for investigations at radioactive ion beam facilities. An extended library of theoretical cross sections and reaction rates is presented. The problem of properly predicting cross sections at low level densities is illustrated by the Ni-62(n,gamma) reaction.