1) Experimental low-energy Nuclear Astrophysics with stable beams: an Introduction

This lecture will give a general introduction to nuclear astrophysics with special emphasis on current open issues. These include nuclear reactions of the pp-chain and the CNO cycle as well as the helium burning reaction ¹²C( a , g )¹⁶O – holy grail of nuclear astrophysics – and carbon burning. Current state-of-the-art experimental techniques for the cross section measurements of these important nuclear reactions will be discussed.