Abstract
The reactions 26Alg(p,γ)27Si and 26Alm(p,γ)27Si are important for influencing the galactic abundance of the cosmic γ-ray emitter 26Alg and for the excess abundance of 26Mg found in presolar grains, respectively. Precise excitation energies and spin assignments of states from the ground state to the region of astrophysical interest in 27Si, including the identification and pairing of key astrophysical resonances with analog states in the mirror nucleus 27Al, are reported using γ rays observed in the 12C + 16O fusion reaction. The detailed evolution of Coulomb energy differences between the states in 27Si and 27Al is explored, including the region above the astrophysical reaction thresholds. © 2011 American Physical Society.