RadioLab project: knowledge of radon gas in Italy.

RadioLab is an Italian project, addressed to school-age people, and designed for the dissemination of scientific culture on the theme of environmental radioactivity, with particular regards to the importance of knowledge of radon gas exposure. The project is a nationwide initiative promoted by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics- INFN. First tool used by the project, and of immediate impact to assess the public awareness on radon, is the administration of the survey "do you know the radon gas?".

Proton-Capture Rates on Carbon Isotopes and Their Impact on the Astrophysical ^{12}C/^{13}C Ratio.

The ^{12}C/^{13}C ratio is a significant indicator of nucleosynthesis and mixing processes during hydrogen burning in stars. Its value mainly depends on the relative rates of the ^{12}C(p,γ)^{13}N and ^{13}C(p,γ)^{14}N reactions. Both reactions have been studied at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) in Italy down to the lowest energies to date (E_{c.

Direct Measurement of the ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O Cross Section into the s-Process Gamow Peak.

One of the main neutron sources for the astrophysical s process is the reaction ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O, taking place in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars at temperatures around 90 MK. To model the nucleosynthesis during this process the reaction cross section needs to be known in the 150-230 keV energy window (Gamow peak). At these sub-Coulomb energies, cross section direct measurements are severely affected by the low event rate, making us rely on input from indirect methods and extrapolations from higher-energy direct data.

The baryon density of the Universe from an improved rate of deuterium burning.

Light elements were produced in the first few minutes of the Universe through a sequence of nuclear reactions known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Among the light elements produced during BBN, deuterium is an excellent indicator of cosmological parameters because its abundance is highly sensitive to the primordial baryon density and also depends on the number of neutrino species permeating the early Universe. Although astronomical observations of primordial deuterium abundance have reached percent accuracy, theoretical predictions based on BBN are hampered by large uncertainties on the cross-section of the deuterium burning D(p,γ)He reaction.