⁹⁵Mo(n,α) cross section from 1 eV to 500 keV: A test of the α+nucleus optical potential used in calculating reaction rates for explosive nucleosynthesis

We have measured the ⁹⁵Mo(n,α) cross section in the energy range from 1 eV to 500 keV at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator (ORELA). This work is part of a series of (n,α) measurements for deriving a reliable global α+nucleus potential, which is an essential ingredient in nuclear statistical model calculations of the reaction rates for unstable nuclei involved in explosive p-process nucleosynthesis. The ⁹⁵Mo(n,α) rate shows a strong sensitivity to the α+nucleus potential used in the calculations, and therefore these new data should be very useful in obtaining an improved potential. For example, although there is a factor of 5 variation in the rate calculated using different potentials, an older model and a newer one using one of three recently proposed potentials are in good agreement with our new data.