Nuclear uncertainties in the NeNa-MgAl cycles and production of 22Na and 26Al during nova outbursts

Classical novae eject significant amounts of nuclear-processed material into the interstellar medium. Among the isotopes synthesized during such explosions, two radioactive nuclei deserve particular attention: Na-22 and Al-26. In this paper, we investigate the nuclear paths leading to Na-22 and Al-26 production during nova outbursts by means of an implicit hydrodynamic code that follows the course of the thermonuclear runaway from the onset of accretion up to the ejection stage. New evolutionary sequences of ONe novae have been computed, using updated nuclear reaction rates relevant to Na-22 and Al-26 production. Special attention is focused on the role played by nuclear uncertainties within the NeNa and MgAl cycles in the synthesis of such radioactive species. From a series of hydrodynamic models, which assume upper, recommended, or lower estimates of the reaction rates, we derive limits on the production of both Na-22 and Al-26. we outline a list of nuclear reactions that deserve new experimental investigations in order to reduce the wide dispersion introduced by nuclear uncertainties in the Na-22 and Al-26 yields.