Study of the 26Alm (d, p)27 Al Reaction and the Influence of the 26Al 0+ Isomer on the Destruction of 26Al in the Galaxy

The existence of Al-26 (t(1/2) = 7.17 x 10 (5) yr ) in the interstellar medium provides a direct confirmation of ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. The presence of a low-lying 0(+) isomer (Al-26(m) ), however, severely complicates the astrophysical calculations. We present for the first time a study of the Al-26(m) (d , p )(27) Al reaction using an isomeric Al-26 beam. The selectivity of this reaction allowed the study of l = 0 transfers to T = (1/2) , and T = (3/2) states in Al-27 . Mirror symmetry arguments were then used to constrain the Al-26(m) (p , gamma )(27) Si reaction rate and provide an experimentally determined upper limit of the rate for the destruction of isomeric Al-26 via radiative proton capture reactions, which is expected to dominate the destruction path of Al-26(m) in asymptotic giant branch stars, classical novae, and core collapse supernovae