Experimentally Constrained Nuclear Level Density for Doubly Magic ⁵⁶Ni in the rp-Process

One of the biggest questions in nuclear astrophysics is the origin of the elements in the universe. On the proton-rich side, reactions drive nucleosynthesis relevant to core-collapse supernovae and x-ray bursts. One process known to synthesize these proton-rich elements is the rapid proton-capture process (rp-process), and our region of interest is the Ni and Cu isotopes, which are involved in the Ni-Cu cycle. While much work has been done in this region, the statistical properties, such as the nuclear level density (NLD), of the nuclei involved have yet to be probed. Understanding these statistical properties is important for rp-process reaction rates and doubly magic ⁵⁶Ni is known to play an important role in the Ni-Cu cycle as a waiting point. However, no NLD measurements have been made thus far. In the current work, we aim to measure the NLD of ⁵⁶Ni for the first time using the particle-evaporation technique at Ohio University’s Edwards Accelerator Laboratory. In this presentation, the ⁵⁴Fe(³He,n) experiment used to produce doubly magic ⁵⁶Ni will be described along with the preliminary neutron-evaporation results and implications for the rp-process.