Stellar s -process neutron capture cross sections on Kr 78 , 80 , 84 , 86 determined via activation, atom trap trace analysis, and decay counting

We present a detailed account of neutron capture experiments of astrophysical relevance on Kr 78 , 80 , 84 , 86 ( n , γ ) reactions at the border between weak and main s process. The experiments were performed with quasi-Maxwellian neutrons from the Liquid-Lithium Target (LiLiT) and the mA-proton beam at 1.93 MeV (2–3 kW) of the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF). The setup yields high-intensity ≈ 40 keV quasi-Maxwellian neutrons (3–5 × 10 10 n /s) closely reproducing the conditions of s -process stellar nucleosynthesis. A sample of 100 mg of atmospheric, pre-nuclear-age Kr gas contained in a Ti spherical shell was activated in the LiLiT neutron field. The abundances of long-lived Kr isotopes ( Kr 81 , 85 g ) were measured by atom counting via atom trap trace analysis (ATTA) at Argonne National Laboratory and low-level counting (LLC) at University of Bern. This work is the first measurement of a nuclear cross section using atom counting via ATTA. The activities of short-lived Kr isotopes ( Kr 79 , 85 m , 87 ) were measured by γ -decay counting with a high-purity germanium detector. Maxwellian-averaged cross sections for s -process thermal energies are extracted. By comparison to reference values, our nucleosynthesis network calculations show that the experimental cross sections have a strong impact on calculated abundances of krypton and neighboring nuclides, in some cases improving agreement between theory and observations.