Spectroscopy of Superheavy Nuclei: The SAGE spectrometer
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The majority of the mass of the universe is made up of atomic nuclei that lie at the centre of the atom. Nuclei contain positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons. The lightest known nucleus is that of hydrogen that contains just one proton but no one yet knows how heavy a nucleus can be; in other words, just how many neutrons and protons can be made to bind together. The aim of this proposal is to address this question by studying the heaviest nuclei that can be made in the laboratory. These nuclei are extremely difficult to create and study. The heaviest man-made elements today (unnamed as yet) have as many as 116 protons, but have been produced in tiny quantities of a few atoms only. Both protons and neutrons are held together by the strong nuclear force but protons are repelled from each other because of their electric charge. The nuclear force has an extremely short range, affecting nearest neighbours only, so that, as more and more protons are added to a nucleus the electrostatic repulsion will eventually become stronger than the nuclear binding forces and the nucleus will become unstable. The neutrons and protons will no longer stick together. This should happen for nuclei beyond uranium, which has 92 protons but the existence of heavier species comes about because of the internal structure within the nuclei. Just as noble gases owe their inert chemical behaviour to a specific arrangement of electrons that has extra stability, so certain 'magic' proton and neutron numbers also enhance nuclear stability. This project is concerned with a detailed study of the underlying mechanisms that yield this extra stability and allow 'superheavy' nuclei to exist. The main focus of this work will be on nuclei around nobelium with 102 protons, approximately halfway between the well-studied nuclei around uranium and the frontier of superheavy elements. Here spectroscopic methods can be used to gain detailed insights into the shape of the nucleus and the b
Publications
Robinson A
(2011)
Search for a 2-quasiparticle high- K isomer in Rf 256
in Physical Review C
Peura P
(2014)
Erratum: Quasiparticle alignments and a -decay fine structure of 175 Pt [Phys. Rev. C 89 , 024316 (2014)]
in Physical Review C
Davis-Merry T
(2015)
Collective excitations in the transitional nuclei Re 163 and Re 165
in Physical Review C
Ghys L
(2014)
Evolution of fission-fragment mass distributions in the neutron-deficient lead region
in Physical Review C
Robinson A
(2008)
K p = 8 - isomers and K p = 2 - octupole vibrations in N = 150 shell-stabilized isotones
in Physical Review C
Seliverstov M
(2014)
Electromagnetic moments of odd- A Po 193 - 203 , 211 isotopes
in Physical Review C
Bastin J
(2006)
In-beam gamma ray and conversion electron study of Fm 250
in Physical Review C
Briselet R
(2020)
In-beam ? -ray and electron spectroscopy of Md 249 , 251
in Physical Review C
Gaffney L
(2014)
Shape coexistence in neutron-deficient Hg isotopes studied via lifetime measurements in Hg 184 , 186 and two-state mixing calculations
in Physical Review C
Liberati V
(2013)
ß -delayed fission and a decay of 178 Tl
in Physical Review C
Andreyev A
(2014)
a decay of Au 176
in Physical Review C
Sulignano B
(2012)
Investigation of high- K states in 252 No
in Physical Review C
Kalaninová Z
(2014)
Decay of 201 - 203 Ra and 200 - 202 Fr
in Physical Review C
Piot J
(2012)
In-beam spectroscopy with intense ion beams: Evidence for a rotational structure in 246 Fm
in Physical Review C
Li H
(2015)
First identification of rotational band structures in Re 91 75 166
in Physical Review C
Li H
(2015)
Recoil-decay tagging spectroscopy of 74 162 W 88
in Physical Review C
Parr E
(2016)
Identification of the J p = 1 - state in Ra 218 populated via a decay of Th 222
in Physical Review C
Kalaninová Z
(2013)
a decay of the very neutron-deficient isotopes 197 - 199 Fr
in Physical Review C
Elseviers J
(2013)
ß -delayed fission of 180 Tl
in Physical Review C
Scheck M
(2011)
Combined in-beam electron and ? -ray spectroscopy of Hg 184 , 186
in Physical Review C
Greenlees P
(2008)
High- K structure in Fm 250 and the deformed shell gaps at N = 152 and Z = 100
in Physical Review C
Drummond M
(2013)
Low-lying excited states in the neutron-deficient isotopes 163 Os and 165 Os
in Physical Review C
Andreyev AN
(2013)
Signatures of the Z = 82 shell closure in a-decay process.
in Physical review letters
Grodner E
(2014)
Hindered Gamow-Teller decay to the odd-odd N=Z (62)Ga: absence of proton-neutron T=0 condensate in A=62.
in Physical review letters
Carroll RJ
(2014)
Blurring the boundaries: decays of multiparticle isomers at the proton drip line.
in Physical review letters
Description | GREAT collaboration |
Organisation | University of Jyvaskyla |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | Finland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Constructed GREAT spectrometer and TDR DAQ system. Spokesperson of many experiments. |
Collaborator Contribution | facility |
Impact | 24 outputs |
Description | TASCA Collaboration |
Organisation | Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung |
Department | Nuclear Physics (Superheavy Elements) |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Parts of the detection system, Manpower, Data Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulation, Intellectual Input |
Collaborator Contribution | Technical Support for Experiment |
Impact | Confirmation of Element 114 and New isotope 277Hs (Duellmann et al, PRL 104 2010 252701) Spectroscopy of 253No (Anderson et al, NIMA622 2010 164) |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | TASCA Collaboration |
Organisation | Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres |
Department | Helmholtz Institute Mainz |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Parts of the detection system, Manpower, Data Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulation, Intellectual Input |
Collaborator Contribution | Technical Support for Experiment |
Impact | Confirmation of Element 114 and New isotope 277Hs (Duellmann et al, PRL 104 2010 252701) Spectroscopy of 253No (Anderson et al, NIMA622 2010 164) |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | TASCA Collaboration |
Organisation | Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Parts of the detection system, Manpower, Data Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulation, Intellectual Input |
Collaborator Contribution | Technical Support for Experiment |
Impact | Confirmation of Element 114 and New isotope 277Hs (Duellmann et al, PRL 104 2010 252701) Spectroscopy of 253No (Anderson et al, NIMA622 2010 164) |
Start Year | 2006 |