High-precision {sup 28}Si(p,t){sup 26}Si reaction to determine {sup 22}Mg({alpha},p){sup 25}Al reaction rates

The rise time of stellar x-ray bursts is a signature of thermonuclear runaway processes in the atmosphere of neutron stars and is highly sensitive to a series of ({alpha},p) reactions via high-lying resonances in sd-shell nuclei. Lacking data for the relevant resonance levels, the stellar reaction rates have been calculated using statistical, Hauser-Feshbach models, assuming a high-level density. This assumption may not be correct in view of the selectivity of the ({alpha},p) reaction to natural parity states. We measured the {sup 28}Si(p,t){sup 26}Si reaction with a high-resolution spectrometer to identify resonance levels in {sup 26}Si above the {alpha}-emission threshold at 9.164 MeV excitation energy. These resonance levels are used to calculate the stellar reaction rate of the {sup 22}Mg({alpha},p){sup 25}Al reaction and to test the validity of the statistical assumption.