Experimental simulation of a stellar photon bath by bremsstrahlung: the astrophysical $\gamma$-process

The nucleosynthesis of heavy proton-rich nuclei in a stellar photon bath at temperatures of the astrophysical $\gamma$-process was investigated where the photon bath was simulated by the superposition of bremsstrahlung spectra with different endpoint energies. The method was applied to derive ($\gamma$,n) cross sections and reaction rates for several platinum isotopes.