Explosive nuclear astrophysical reactions of proton-rich nuclei

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Nearly all the elements that constitute our bodies, and our planet, were first produced in stars. New telescopes are letting us look in detail at exploding stars, and the material and radiation emitted from them. The explosions are driven on the microscopic scale by nuclear reactions. Unlike the reactions in the sun, most of the isotopes involved are radioactive and we do not know how to calculate accurately their reaction rates. Around the world many countries are building accelerators that produce intense beams of radioactive nuclei. At long last we are able to study directly the reactions taking place in exploding stars here on the earth. These experiments are not easy, and require modern detection systems to obtain good results. These data are essential to understand and model exploding stars, such as novae, X-ray bursters and type Ia supernovae.The Edinburgh Group is one of the world's pioneering Groups in this field and has built advanced detection systems at radioactive beam facilities in Europe and North America to make measurements of the reactions of astrophysically important proton-rich nuclei. The grant request asks for bridging support to exploit the systems constructed by the Group at world leading radioactive beam facilities.