The Nuclear Astrophysics Program at the CERN nTOF Facility: Results and Perspectives

The CERN nTOF facility is a research infrastructure specifically designed for studying neutron-induced nuclear reactions. Pulsed white neutron beams are delivered toward three experimental areas, two of them at different baselines to apply the time-of-flight technique, and another one very close to the neutron source for activation studies. High intensity and high neutron energy resolution make nTOF a unique facility. A major component of the physics program at nTOF is dedicated to the measurement of key neutron induced reactions for nuclear astrophysics, relevant to nucleosynthesis in stars, the Big Bang primordial nucleosynthesis as well as Cosmochronology. A review of the relevant results obtained at the nTOF facility is reported, together with details of challenging new measurements in preparation.