Experimental simulation of a stellar photon bath by bremsstrahlung: the astrophysical gamma-process

The nucleosynthesis of heavy proton-rich nuclei in a stellar photon bath at temperatures of the astrophysical gamma-process was investigated where the photon bath was simulated by the superposition of bremsstrahlung spectra with different endpoint energies. The method was applied to derive (gamma,n) cross sections and reaction rates for several platinum isotopes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.