PART I
The total cross-section for the reaction 21Ne(α, n)24Mg has been measured in the energy range 1.49 Mev ≤ Ecm ≤ 2.6 Mev. The cross-section factor, S(O), for this reaction has been determined, by means of an optical model calculation, to be in the range 1.52 x 1012 mb-Mev to 2.67 x 1012 mb-Mev, for interaction radii in the range 5.0 fm to 6.6 fm. With S(O) ≈ 2 x 1012 mb-Mev, the reaction 21Ne(α, n)24Mg can produce a large enough neutron flux to be a significant astrophysical source of neutrons.
PART II
The reaction12C(3He, p)14N has been studied over the energy range 12 Mev ≤ Elab ≤ 18 Mev. Angular distributions of the proton groups leading to the lowest seven levels in 14N were obtained.
Distorted wave calculations, based on two-nucleon transfer theory, were performed, and were found to be reliable for obtaining the value of the orbital angular momentum transferred. The present work shows that such calculations do not yield unambiguous values for the spectroscopic factors.