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Cosmic-ray physics in the GeV-to-TeV energy range has entered a precision era thanks to recent data from space-based experiments. However, the poor knowledge of nuclear reactions, in particular for the production of antimatter and secondary nuclei, limits the information that can be extracted from these data, such as source properties, transport in the Galaxy and indirect searches for particle dark matter. The Cross-Section for Cosmic Rays at CERN workshop series has addressed the challenges encountered in the interpretation of high-precision cosmic-ray data, with the goal of strengthening emergent synergies and taking advantage of the complementarity and know-how in different communities, from theoretical and experimental astroparticle physics to high-energy and nuclear physics. In this paper, we present the outcomes of the third edition of the workshop that took place in 2024. We present the current state of cosmic-ray experiments and their perspectives, and provide a detailed road map to close the most urgent gaps in cross-section data, in order to efficiently progress on many open physics cases, which are motivated in the paper. Finally, with the aim of being as exhaustive as possible, this report touches several other fields -- such as cosmogenic studies, space radiation protection and hadrontherapy -- where overlapping and specific new cross-section measurements, as well as nuclear code improvement and benchmarking efforts, are also needed. We also briefly highlight further synergies between astroparticle and high-energy physics on the question of cross-sections.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available March 20, 2026
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Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the -process contribution by their stable isobars are defined as -only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of , the heaviest -only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance. Besides the impact of uncertainties from stellar models and galactic chemical evolution simulations, this discrepancy was further obscured by rather divergent theoretical estimates for the neutron capture cross section of its radioactive precursor in the neutron-capture flow, ( ), and by the lack of experimental data on this reaction. We present the first ever neutron capture measurement on , conducted at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF, employing a sample of only 9 mg of produced at the Institute Laue Langevin high flux reactor. By complementing our new results with semiempirical calculations we obtained, at the -process temperatures of and , Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) of 580(168) mb and 260(90) mb, respectively. These figures are about 3% lower and 20% higher than the corresponding values widely used in astrophysical calculations, which were based only on theoretical calculations. By using the new MACS, the uncertainty arising from the cross section on the -process abundance of has been reduced from down to , and the -process calculations are in agreement with the latest solar system abundance of reported by K. Lodders in 2021. Published by the American Physical Society2024more » « less
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