NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS WITH SECONDARY (RADIOACTIVE) BEAMS

Some problems in nuclear astrophysics are discussed with emphasis on t he ones central to the field which were not solved over the last two d ecades, including helium burning in massive stars (the C-12(alpha, gam ma) O-16 reaction) and the B-8 solar neutrino flux problem (the Be-7(p , gamma) B-8 reaction). We demonstrate that a great deal of progress w as achieved by measuring the time reverse process(es): the beta-delaye d alpha-particle emission of N-16 and the Coulomb dissociation of B-8, using radioactive beams of N-16 and B-8. In this way an amplification of the sought for cross section was achieved, allowing a measurement of the small cross section(s) of relevance for stellar (solar) process es.