Activation Measurement of the<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mi>He</mml:mi><mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:mi>α</mml:mi><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo><mml:mmultiscripts><mml:mi>Be</mml:mi><mml:mprescripts/><mml:none/><mml:mn>7</mml:mn></mml:mmultiscripts></mml:math>Cross Section at Low Energy

The nuclear physics input from the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section is a major uncertainty in the fluxes of 7Be and 8B neutrinos from the Sun predicted by solar models and in the 7Li abundance obtained in big-bang nucleosynthesis calculations. The present work reports on a new precision experiment using the activation technique at energies directly relevant to big-bang nucleosynthesis. Previously such low energies had been reached experimentally only by the prompt-gamma technique and with inferior precision. Using a windowless gas target, high beam intensity, and low background gamma-counting facilities, the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be cross section has been determined at 127, 148, and 169 keV center-of-mass energy with a total uncertainty of 4%. The sources of systematic uncertainty are discussed in detail. The present data can be used in big-bang nucleosynthesis calculations and to constrain the extrapolation of the 3He(alpha,gamma)7Be astrophysical S factor to solar energies.