Neutron Induced Reactions in Astrophysics

Abstract:  Neutron induced reactions play a key role in producing the chemical elements in our cosmos. About half of the abundances of elements heavier than iron are formed during quiescent burning phases in stars in the so-called slow neutron capture process, a sequence of radiative neutron captures and beta-decays. Abundances produced in this process depend sensitively on neutron reaction cross sections. After briefly introducing stellar nucleosynthesis, I will present recent neutron cross section measurements of astrophysical interest. I will focus on experiments performed at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN, and how these measurements can help to understand nucleosynthesis processes in stars.