Speaker
Description
The isotope $^{60}$Fe contributes substantially to the Galactic $\gamma$-radioactivity measured with satellite-based instruments and it is characterized by a diffuse distribution along the galactic plane.
Numerous studies focused on the nucleosynthesis $^{60}$Fe/$^{26}$Al ratio.
A significant contribution to the interstellar $^{60}$Fe abundance is provided by the s-process during convective shell C-burning in massive stars, where high neutron densities are produced by the $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$, n)$^{25}$Mg reaction.
A number of new missions have been proposed as next generation $\gamma$-ray satellites that are well-suited to measuring $^{26}$Al and $^{60}$Fe in supernova remnants (AMEGO e-ASTROGAM, COSI, ETCC and Lunar Occultation Explorer). It is expected that the sensitivity limit will allow the detection of old core-collapse supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Milky Way from their gamma-ray emission from the decay of $^{60}$Fe shows that the next generation of gamma-ray missions could be able to discover up to ∼100 such old SNRs as well as measure the $^{60}$Fe yields of a handful of known Galactic SNRs [2].
The cross section of the astrophysical production reaction, $^{59}$Fe(n, $\gamma$)$^{60}$Fe has been measured only once using a relativistic Coulomb dissociation experiment [1]. We propose to measure the $^{59}$Fe(n, $\gamma$)$^{60}$Fe cross section at astrophysical energies indirectly via the reaction $^{59}$Fe(d,p) with the much improved resolution offered by the ISS spectrometer.
[1] E. Uberseder, et al. PRL 112, 211101 (2014)
[2] S.W. Jones. et al. MNRAS 485, 3, 4287–4310 (2019)