The nuclear structure and associated electron capture rates on odd-Z nucleus 51V in stellar matter

The Gamow-Teller strength distribution function, B(GT), for the odd Z parent ⁵¹V, N?Z=5, up to 30 MeV of excitation energy in the daughter ⁵¹Ti is calculated in the domain of proton-neutron Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (pn-QRPA) theory. The pn-QRPA results are compared against other theoretical calculations, (n, p) and high resolution (d, ²He) reaction experiments. For the case of (d, ²He) reaction the calibration was performed for 0≤E _j ≤5.0 MeV, where the authors stressed that within this excitation energy range the ΔL=0 transition strength can be extracted with high accuracy for ⁵¹V. Within this energy range the current pn-QRPA total B(GT) strength 0.79 is in good agreement with the (d, ²He) experiment’s total strength of 0.9±0.1. The pn-QRPA calculated Gamow-Teller centroid at 4.20 MeV in daughter ⁵¹Ti is also in good agreement with high resolution (d, ²He) experiment which placed the Gamow-Teller centroid at 4.1±0.4 MeV in daughter ⁵¹Ti. The low energy detailed Gamow-Teller structure and Gamow-Teller centroid play a sumptuous role in associated weak decay rates and consequently affect the stellar dynamics. The stellar weak rates are sensitive to the location and structure of these low-lying states in daughter ⁵¹Ti. The calculated electron capture rates on ⁵¹V in stellar matter are also in good agreement with the large scale shell model rates.