  We study here the onset of thermal equilibrium affecting the lifetimes of
26Al and 34Cl nuclei within a hot astrophysical photon gas. The 26Al isotope is
of prime interest for gamma ray astronomy with the observation of its delayed
(t_1\2=0.74 My) 1.809MeV gamma-ray line. Its nucleosynthesis is complicated by
the presence of a short lived (t_1\2=6.34s) spin isomer. A similar
configuration is found in 34Cl where the decay of its isomer (34mCl, t_1\2=32m)
is followed by delayed gamma-ray emission with characteristic energies. The
lifetimes of such nuclei are reduced at high temperature by the thermal
population of shorter lived levels. However, thermal equilibrium within 26Al
and 34Cl levels is delayed by the presence of the isomer. We study here the
transition to thermal equilibrium where branching ratios for radiative
transitions are needed in order to calculate lifetimes. Since some of these
very small branching ratios are not known experimentally, we use results of
shell model calculations.
