Abstract
The cross sections of the reaction for -wave neutrons were experimentally determined at slightly above the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) energy window for the first time on the basis of the detailed balance principle by measuring the time-reverse reaction. The obtained cross sections are much larger than the cross sections for -wave neutrons inferred from the recent measurement at the n_TOF facility in CERN, but significantly smaller than the theoretical estimation widely used in the BBN calculations. The present results suggest the reaction rate is not large enough to solve the cosmological lithium problem, and this conclusion agrees with the recent result from the direct measurement of the -wave cross sections using a low-energy neutron beam and the evaluated nuclear data library ENDF/B-VII.1.
- Received 5 October 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.052701
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