The neutron time-of-flight facility, nTOF, operating at CERN since 2001, is a pulsed neutron source coupled with two experimental areas by means of different flight paths (185 mt and 18 mt, respectively). It is designed to study neutron-nucleus interactions for neutron energies ranging from a few meV to several GeV. The wide energy range and the high energy resolution characterizing nTOF are unique features which allow to make precise measurements of neutron capture and neutron induced fission reactions.
Data produced by nTOF are used in astrophysics to model the production of chemical elements in the Universe, ranging from Big Bang nucleosynthesis to the slow and rapid neutron capture processes in AGB stars and Neutron Stars Mergers, respectively.
The contribution of researchers from Abruzzo Observatory consists in the theoretical support for the presentation of new measurements and for the interpretation of the astrophysical consequences related to the measured cross sections.
