α-induced reaction cross sections in the mass range A ≈ 20 − 50: a critical review

Abstract In a recent review it was shown that the cross sections of α-induced reactions in the A ≈ 20 − 50 mass range follow a general and smooth trend in most cases. For comparison of cross sections of different targets at various energies the method of reduced cross sections σ red and reduced energies E red was used. Four outliers were identified: 36Ar and 40Ar with unusal small cross sections and 23Na and 33S with unusual huge cross sections. New data for 23Na were presented at this NPA-7 conference; contrary to the previous data, these new data fit into the general systematics. In addition, a relation between the most effective energy E 0 for astrophysical reaction rates (the so-called Gamow window) and the reduced energy E red is presented.