Nuclear Structure and Reactions: Theory and Experiment
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Nuclear physics research is undergoing a transformation. For a hundred years, atomic nuclei have been probed by collisions between stable beams and stable targets, with just a small number of radioactive isotopes being available. Now, building on steady progress over the past 20 years, it is at last becoming possible to generate intense beams of a wide range of short-lived isotopes, so-called 'radioactive beams'. This enables us vastly to expand the scope of experimental nuclear research. For example, it is now realistic to plan to study in the laboratory a range of nuclear reactions that take place in exploding stars. Thereby, we will be able to understand how the chemical elements that we find on Earth were formed and distributed through the Universe. At the core of our experimental research is our strong participation at leading European radioactive-beam facilities: FAIR at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany; SPIRAL at GANIL, Caen, France; and ISOLDE at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. While we are now contributing, or planning to contribute, to substantial technical developments at these facilities, the present grant request is focused on the exploitation of the capabilities that are now becoming available. To achieve our physics objectives, we also need to use other facilities, including stable-isotope accelerators, since these can provide complementary capabilities. Experimental progress is intimately linked with theory, where novel and practical approaches are a hallmark of the Surrey group. A key and unique feature (within the UK) of our group is our blend of theoretical and experimental capability. Our science goals are aligned with current STFC strategy for nuclear physics, as expressed in detail through the Nuclear Physics Advisory Panel. We wish to understand the boundaries of nuclear existence, i.e. the limiting conditions that enable neutrons and protons to bind together to form nuclei. Under such conditions, the nuclear system is in a delicate state and shows unusual phenomena. It is very sensitive to the properties of the nuclear force. For example, weakly bound neutrons can orbit their parent nucleus at remarkably large distances. This is already known, and our group made key contributions to this knowledge. What is unknown is whether, and to what extent, the neutrons and protons can show different collective behaviours. Also unknown, for most elements, is how many neutrons can bind to a given number of protons. It is features such as these that determine how stars explode. So, we need a more sophisticated understanding of the nuclear force, and we need experimental information about nuclei with unusual combinations of neutrons and protons to test our theoretical ideas and models. Therefore, theory and experiment go hand-in-hand as we push forward towards the nuclear limits. An overview of nuclear binding reveals that about one half of predicted nuclei have never been observed, and the vast majority of this unknown territory involves nuclei with an excess of neutrons. The focus of our activity addresses this 'neutron-rich' territory, exploiting the new capabilities with radioactive beams. Our principal motivation is the basic science, and we contribute strongly to the world sum of knowledge and understanding. Nevertheless, there are more-tangible benefits. For example, our radiation-detector advances can be incorporated in medical diagnosis and treatment. In addition, we provide an excellent training environment for our research students and staff, many of whom go on to work in the nuclear power industry, helping to fill the current skills gap. On a more adventurous note, our special interest in nuclear isomers (energy traps) could lead to novel energy applications. Furthermore, we have a keen interest in sharing our specialist knowledge with a wide audience, and we already have an enviable track record with the media.
Organisations
Publications
Hlophe L
(2013)
Separable representation of phenomenological optical potentials of Woods-Saxon type
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk N
(2013)
Spectroscopic factors and asymptotic normalization coefficients for 0 p -shell nuclei: Recent updates
in Physical Review C
Alharbi T
(2013)
Electromagnetic transition rates in the N = 80 nucleus 58 138 Ce
in Physical Review C
Al-Khalili Jim
(2013)
Scientific SOS
in NEW SCIENTIST
Stone N
(2013)
Quasi-particle and collective magnetism: Rotation, pairing and blocking in high-K isomers
in Physics Letters B
Goddard P
(2013)
Dipole response of 76 Se above 4 MeV
in Physical Review C
Maruhn J
(2013)
The TDHF Code Sky3D
Lalkovski S
(2013)
Submicrosecond isomer in 45 117 Rh 72 and the role of triaxiality in its electromagnetic decay rate
in Physical Review C
Zieblinski M
(2013)
Testing of the PARIS LaBr<sub><span class="cmr-7">3</span></sub>-NaI Phoswich Detector with High Energy Gamma-rays
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Guastalla G
(2013)
Coulomb excitation of 104Sn and the strength of the 100Sn shell closure.
in Physical review letters
Rajabali M
(2013)
A dedicated decay-spectroscopy station for the collinear resonance ionization experiment at ISOLDE
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Flavigny F
(2013)
Limited asymmetry dependence of correlations from single nucleon transfer.
in Physical review letters
Chen F
(2013)
Mixing effects on K -forbidden transition rates from the 6 + isomers in the N = 104 isotones
in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Sethi J
(2013)
Structure of nearly degenerate dipole bands in 108Ag
in Physics Letters B
Cocolios T
(2013)
The Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) experimental setup at CERN-ISOLDE
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Nakhostin M
(2013)
A thermal neutron beam monitor based on avalanche counter
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Söderström P
(2013)
Shape evolution in 116 , 118 Ru: Triaxiality and transition between the O(6) and U(5) dynamical symmetries
in Physical Review C
Wilson E
(2013)
Core Excitations Across the Neutron Shell Gap in <sup><span class="cmr-7">207</span></sup>Tl
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Jordan D
(2013)
Total absorption study of the ß decay of 102 , 104 , 105 Tc
in Physical Review C
Al-Khalili J
(2013)
Nature's quantum subways
in Physics World
Benstead J
(2014)
Calculations of Compound Nucleus Spin-parity Distributions Populated via the (p,t) Reaction in Support of Surrogate Reaction Measurements
in Nuclear Data Sheets
Crawford H
(2014)
Shell and shape evolution at N = 28 : The Mg 40 ground state
in Physical Review C
Muto S
(2014)
Magnetic properties of Hf 177 and Hf 180 in the strong-coupling deformed model
in Physical Review C
Algora A
(2014)
Total Absorption Study of Beta Decays Relevant for Nuclear Applications and Nuclear Structure
in Nuclear Data Sheets
Stevenson P
(2014)
Isoscalar and Isovector Giant Monopole Resonances from a Continuum Hartree-Fock Method
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Sethi J
(2014)
Study of the level structure of 108 Ag
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Kucuk Y
(2014)
Intermediate-energy four-body breakup calculations for C 22
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk N
(2014)
Overlap functions for reaction theories: challenges and open problems
in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Gottardo A
(2014)
New Isomers in the Neutron-Rich Region Beyond 208 Pb
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Morales A
(2014)
ß -decay studies of neutron-rich Tl, Pb, and Bi isotopes
in Physical Review C
Rahaman A
(2014)
Study of Ground State Wave-function of the Neutron-rich 29,30 Na Isotopes through Coulomb Breakup
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Wimmer K
(2014)
Elastic breakup cross sections of well-bound nucleons
in Physical Review C
Chakraborty S
(2014)
Ground-state configuration of neutron-rich Aluminum isotopes through Coulomb Breakup
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Minkov N
(2014)
Influence of the octupole mode on nuclear high- K isomeric properties
in Physica Scripta
Godbeer A
(2014)
Environment-induced dephasing versus von Neumann measurements in proton tunneling
in Physical Review A
Sellahewa R
(2014)
Isovector properties of the Gogny interaction
Tostevin J
(2014)
Systematics of intermediate-energy single-nucleon removal cross sections
in Physical Review C
Orrigo S
(2014)
Beta decay of exotic T Z = -1, -2 nuclei: the interesting case of 56 Zn
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Zakari-Issoufou A
(2014)
Results of fission products ß decay properties measurement performed with a total absorption spectrometer
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Rios A
(2014)
Density and isospin-asymmetry dependence of high-momentum components
in Physical Review C
Somà V
(2014)
Nucleon mean-free path in the medium
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Calinescu S
(2014)
Study of the Neutron-rich Isotope $^{46}$Ar Through Intermediate Energy Coulomb Excitation
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Altstadt S
(2014)
13,14B(n, ?) via Coulomb Dissociation for Nucleosynthesis towards the r-Process
in Nuclear Data Sheets
Agramunt J
(2014)
New Beta-delayed Neutron Measurements in the Light-mass Fission Group
in Nuclear Data Sheets
Valencia E
(2014)
Gamma/neutron competition above the neutron separation energy in delayed neutron emitters
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Roberts O
(2014)
A LaBr3: Ce fast-timing array for DESPEC at FAIR
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Nakamura T
(2014)
Deformation-driven p-wave halos at the drip line: 31Ne.
in Physical review letters
| Description | We have advanced the following areas: understanding the limits of the nuclear landscape, especially the neutron-rich limits; understanding and exploiting the reactions needed to reach the limits; studying and understanding novel structures observed on approaching the limits; engaging fully with the international community of nuclear physicists; disseminating results through leading journals and conferences; providing excellent training. |
| Exploitation Route | The main beneficiaries of this work will be the national and international nuclear physics communities. In addition, the expected results on shell structure and isomeric states will also be of significant interest to the nuclear-astrophysics and isomer-application communities. We have an active involvement and information exchange with both these nuclear structure 'user' communities. The isomer work also links closely to the atomic physics community, in particular through the study of highly charged ions stored in rings and traps. Our theoretical methods will be of interest to the condensed-matter community, especially in relation to pairing condensates. The work on detector development has wide potential applications for medical diagnosis and treatment. The research will also provide manpower trained to a high level (PhDs and PDRAs with a deep understanding of radiation physics and sensor technologies) who may subsequently be employed in many different areas, such as national security, the nuclear power industries, environmental monitoring and control, and medical physics. |
| Sectors | Education Energy Environment Healthcare Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | No specific non-academic impact has yet become material. |