S-Wave Resonances For The F-18(P,)O-15 Reaction In Novae

.The F-18(p,) reaction determines the rate of destruction of F-18 in novae. It represents the key nuclear physics uncertainty in modelling the calculated flux of annihilation radiation emitted following the radioactive decay of F-18. The major uncertainties relate to states representing s-wave resonances in the compound system, Ne-19. We report a first study of the F-19(He-3, t)Ne-19 reaction at intermediate energies and forward angles. This reaction has a simple, model-independent, mechanism that we use here to identify states near the proton threshold energy in Ne-19 corresponding to L=0 transitions. In particular, we observe a L=0 state at 6.13 MeV which could significantly affect the F-18(p,) astrophysical S-factor at nova burning temperatures.