Measurement of the (gamma,n) reaction rates of the nuclides 190Pt, 192Pt, and 198Pt in the astrophysical gamma-process

The nucleosynthesis of heavy neutron-deficient nuclei in a stellar photon bath at the temperatures relevant for the astrophysical gamma process was investigated. In order to derive (gamma,n) cross sections and reaction rates, the stellar photon bath was simulated by the superposition of several bremsstrahlung spectra with different endpoint energies. As a first test for this method, the (gamma,n) reaction rates of the platinum isotopes 190Pt, 192Pt, and 198Pt were derived. The results are compared to other experimental data and theoretical calculations.