Lifetimes of states in Ne19 above the O15+α breakup threshold

The O15(α,γ)Ne19 reaction plays a role in the ignition of type I x-ray bursts on accreting neutron stars. The lifetimes of states in Ne19 above the O15+α threshold of 3.53 MeV are important inputs to calculations of the astrophysical reaction rate. These levels in Ne19 were populated in the He3(Ne20,α)Ne19 reaction at a Ne20 beam energy of 34 MeV. The lifetimes of six states above the threshold were measured with the Doppler-shift attenuation method. The present measurements agree with previous determinations of the lifetimes of these states and in some cases are considerably more precise.