Core-collapse supernovae as cosmic ray sources.

Core-collapse supernovae produce fast shocks which pervade the dense circumstellar medium (CSM) of the stellar progenitor. Cosmic rays (CRs) if accelerated at these shocks can induce the growth of electromagnetic fluctuations in the foreshock medium. In this study, using a self-similar description of the shock evolution, we calculate the growth time-scales of CR-driven instabilities.

Search for superscreening effects in a superconductor.

The decay of (19)O(β(-)) and (19)Ne(β(+)) implanted in niobium in its superconducting and metallic phases was measured using purified radioactive beams produced by the SPIRAL GANIL facility. Half-lives and branching ratios measured in the two phases are consistent within a 1σ error bar. This measurement casts strong doubts on the predicted strong electron screening in a superconductor, the so-called superscreening.

Hydrogen burning of 17O in classical novae.

We report on the observation of a previously unknown resonance at E(lab)(R)=194.1+/-0.6 keV in the 17O(p,alpha)14N reaction, with a measured resonance strength omegagamma(palpha)=1.

Low-energy measurement of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B cross section.

We have measured the cross section of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B reaction for E(c.m.) = 185.

6Li from Solar Flares.

By introducing a hitherto ignored 6Li producing process, due to accelerated 3He reactions with 4He, we show that accelerated particle interactions in solar flares produce much more 6Li than 7Li. By normalizing our calculations to gamma-ray data, we demonstrate that the 6Li produced in solar flares, combined with photospheric 7Li, can account for the recently determined solar wind lithium isotopic ratio, obtained from measurements in lunar soil, provided that the bulk of the flare-produced lithium is evacuated by the solar wind. Further research in this area could provide unique information on a variety of problems, including solar atmospheric transport and mixing, solar convection and the lithium depletion issue, and solar wind and solar particle acceleration.