Abstract:
The network calculation of
26Al nucleosynthesis in 3
M_\odot AGB stars and the sensitivity analysis of nuclear reaction rates have been investigated in this article. After establishing a complete nuclear reaction network from carbon to silicon, combined with the latest nuclear reaction rate data, we have calculated the abundance of
26Al. The results show that
26Al is effectively synthesized in the AGB stars at the beginning, but as the reaction proceeding,
26Al is consumed by a series of nuclear reactions. The MgAl cycle appears in the network of
26Al. We divide the main nuclear reactions in the reaction network into three categories (n,
\gamma ), (p,
\gamma ) and (
\alpha,\,\gamma ), and the sensitivity of nuclear reaction rates has been analyzed in detail. We have identified the most influential reactions in each type of nuclear reactions, they are:
25Mg(n,
\gamma )
26Mg,
25Mg(p,
\gamma )
26Al,
26Mg(p,
\gamma )
27Al,
21Ne(p,
\gamma )
22Na,
18O(
\alpha,\,\rm\gamma )
22Ne and
22Ne(
\alpha,\,\rm\gamma )
26Mg. Among all the nuclear reactions involved in the present network,
25Mg(p,
\rm\gamma )
26Al is the one that has the greatest impact on the yield of
26Al, which deserves the attention of nuclear experimentalists.