A microscopic theoretical approach based on a self-consistent density functional theory for the nuclear ground state and QRPA formalism extended with multi-phonon degrees of freedom for the nuclear excited states is implemented in investigations of new low-energy modes called pygmy resonances. Advantage of the method is the unified description of low-energy multiphonon excitations, pygmy resonances and core polarization effects. This is found of crucial importance for the understanding of the fine structure of nuclear response functions at low energies. Aspects of the precise knowledge of nuclear response functions around the neutron threshold are discussed in a connection to nucleosynthesis.

A talk given at the 15'th International Symposium on Capture Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy and Related Topics, CGS15, 24-25 August 2014, Dresden, Germany. The proceedings will appear online in EPJ Web of Conferences (www.epj-conferences.org)