We have studied the neutron-transfer reactions ${}^{11,12}\mathrm{B}$($d,p$)${}^{12,13}\mathrm{B}$ in inverse kinematics to obtain information about the neutron-capture reactions ${}^{11,12}\mathrm{B}$($n,\gamma$). These capture reactions are suggested to play a role in seeding $r$-process nucleosynthesis through the production of light, neutron-rich nuclei. The neutron spectroscopic factors of the states in ${}^{12,13}\mathrm{B}$ were deduced and the branching ratio of the neutron-unbound state at $E_X=3.389$ MeV in ${}^{12}\mathrm{B}$ was obtained to provide the ratio of partial widths, ${\Gamma }_n/{\Gamma }_{\gamma }$. The reaction rates for ${}^{11,12}\mathrm{B}$($n,\gamma$) are estimated for direct captures and resonant captures and compared with previous compilations. The astrophysical implications, especially for neutrino-driven wind models in core-collapse supernovae, are discussed in the $r$-process network framework using our updated reaction rates.

• Received 14 July 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.81.015802