Nuclear physics aspects of the astrophysical <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-process

An overview is given on the experimental nuclear physics aspects of the astrophysical p-process that is responsible for the production of the heavy proton-rich nuclei known as p-nuclei. The nuclear physics input of the p-process scenario involves the knowledge of radiative capture cross sections, mostly calculated by the Hauser-Feshbach statistical model. Our experiments test the reliability of the model calculations in the proton-rich region as well as provide experimental information on the cross sections relevant to the p-process.