Nuclear Astrophysics Studies with an Isomeric 26Alm Beam
Nuclear isomers usually suggest unexpected nuclear structure properties and may play an important role in nuclear astrophysics. One of the most interesting cases is the 0+(T1/2=6.3 s) isomer in 26Al, located just 228-keV above the ground state (5+, T1/2=740 ky). Proton captures on both, the ground state and the isomeric state, have a direct impact on the abundance of 26Al in the Galaxy. We have developed a high-quality isomeric 26Alm beam via In-flight technique. By tunning the production energy we can favor the population of the isomeric state or the ground state in 26Al. In this work, our efforts to develop and characterize an isomeric 26Alm beam are discussed as well as plans for experimental studies using this isomeric beam to constrain the destruction rate of Galactic 26Al in relevant astrophysical environments.
