Prakash C. Rout
BARC, Mumbai
Prakash Chandra Rout is a Scientific Officer in the Physics Group at BARC, Mumbai. He earned his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from HBNI, Mumbai, after graduating from the 46th batch of the BARC Training School (Physics). An accomplished experimental nuclear physicist, his research focuses on nuclear level density and nuclear reaction mechanisms using the BARC– TIFR Pelletron and Linac facilities. He has contributed extensively to the development of radiation detector systems, including deuterated liquid scintillation detectors for neutron and neutrino measurements. Dr Rout is a recipient of the INSA Medal for Young Scientists (2014), DAE Science and Technology Excellence Award (2019), and several other honours. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) and former member of the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS).
Session 1E: Special Session
Chairperson: Amol Dighe, TIFR, Mumbai
Underground science facility for nuclear astrophysics research
Underground laboratories can play a central role in nuclear astrophysics by enabling direct measurements of stellar reaction rates through suppression of cosmic-ray backgrounds. Pioneering efforts at LUNA (Gran Sasso, Italy) delivered precise data on hydrogen- and helium-burning reactions, setting benchmarks for low-background accelerator techniques. Facilities such as JUNA (China), CASPAR (USA), and Felsenkeller (Germany) have extended this approach to CNO cycles, s-process neutron sources, and a wider range of reaction studies, thereby broadening the experimental reach. Looking ahead, the community envisions a high-current, 5 MV underground accelerator with ultra-low-background detection systems. These nextgeneration setups, combined with advanced targets, recoil separators, and active background-rejection techniques, will provide access to critical reactions such as ${}^{12}{\rm C}(α,γ){}^{16}O$, ${}^{14}N(p,γ){}^{15}O$, and ${}^{22}{\rm Ne}(α,n){}^{25}{\rm Mg}$. Precise measurements of these reactions will significantly reduce astrophysical uncertainties, strengthen stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis models, and refine predictions of element formation in diverse stellar environments, from main-sequence stars to supernovae and asymptotic giant branch stars.