DANCEing with the Stars: Measuring Neutron Capture on Unstable Isotopes with DANCE

Isotopes heavier than iron are known to be produced in stars through neutron capture processes. Two major processes, the slow (s) and rapid (r) processes are each responsible for 50% of the abundances of the heavy isotopes. The neutron capture cross sections of the isotopes on the s process path reveal information about the expected abundances of the elements as well as stellar conditions and dynamics. Until recently, measurements on unstable isotopes, which are most important for determining stellar temperatures and reaction flow, have not been experimentally feasible. The Detector for Advance Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE) located at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) was designed to perform time-of-flight neutron capture measurements on unstable isotopes for nuclear astrophysics, stockpile stewardship, and reactor development. DANCE is a 4-p BaF2 scintillator array which can perform measurements on sub-milligram samples of isotopes with half-lives as short as a few hundred days. These cross sections are critical for advancing our understanding of the production of the heavy isotopes.