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
Al-Dahan N
(2012)
Multiple ß - decaying states in 194 Re: Shape evolution in neutron-rich osmium isotopes
in Physical Review C
Riley L
(2012)
? -ray spectroscopy of one-proton knockout from 45 Cl
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk N
(2012)
Core excitations and narrow states beyond the proton dripline: The exotic nucleus 21 Al
in Physical Review C
Hinke CB
(2012)
Superallowed Gamow-Teller decay of the doubly magic nucleus 100Sn.
in Nature
Anagnostatou V
(2012)
Electromagnetic transition rates in 100,101Pd using the Recoil Doppler Shift Technique.
in Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
Simpson E
(2012)
Projectile deformation effects on single-nucleon removal reactions
in Physical Review C
Wimmer K
(2012)
Probing elastic and inelastic breakup contributions to intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions
in Physical Review C
Mason P
(2013)
Half-life of the yrast 2 + state in 188 W: Evolution of deformation and collectivity in neutron-rich tungsten isotopes
in Physical Review C
Goddard P
(2013)
Dipole response of 76 Se above 4 MeV
in Physical Review C
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
Timofeyuk N
(2013)
Nonlocality in the adiabatic model of A ( d , p ) B reactions
in Physical Review C
Britton R
(2013)
Monte-Carlo based background reduction and shielding optimisation for a large hyper-pure germanium detector
in Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Nakhostin M
(2013)
Application of pulse-shape discrimination to coplanar CdZnTe detectors
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Timofeyuk NK
(2013)
Nonlocality in deuteron stripping reactions.
in Physical review letters
Modamio V
(2013)
Lifetime measurements in neutron-rich 63 , 65 Co isotopes using the AGATA demonstrator
in Physical Review C
Roberts O
(2013)
Half-life Measurements of Excited States in <sup><span class="cmr-7">132</span></sup>Te, <sup><span class="cmr-7">134</span></sup>Xe
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Cipollone A
(2013)
Isotopic chains around oxygen from evolved chiral two- and three-nucleon interactions.
in Physical review letters
Pérez-Cerdán A
(2013)
Deformation of Sr and Rb isotopes close to the N = Z line via ß -decay studies using the total absorption technique
in Physical Review C
Morales A
(2013)
ß -delayed ? -ray spectroscopy of 203 , 204 Au and 200 - 202 Pt
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
Gottardo A
(2013)
New µs isomers in the neutron-rich 210 Hg nucleus
in Physics Letters B
Davies PJ
(2013)
Mirror energy differences at large isospin studied through direct two-nucleon knockout.
in Physical review letters
Maruhn J
(2013)
The TDHF Code Sky3D
Denis Bacelar A
(2013)
The population of metastable states as a probe of relativistic-energy fragmentation reactions
in Physics Letters B
Lalkovski S
(2013)
Submicrosecond isomer in 45 117 Rh 72 and the role of triaxiality in its electromagnetic decay rate
in Physical Review C
Alharbi T
(2013)
Electromagnetic transition rates in the N = 80 nucleus 58 138 Ce
in Physical Review C
Stone N
(2013)
Quasi-particle and collective magnetism: Rotation, pairing and blocking in high-K isomers
in Physics Letters B
Walker P
(2013)
The ILIMA project at FAIR
in International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
Somà V
(2013)
Ab initio Gorkov-Green's function calculations of open-shell nuclei
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk N
(2013)
Spectroscopic factors and asymptotic normalization coefficients for 0 p -shell nuclei: Recent updates
in Physical Review C
Capel P
(2013)
The ratio method: A new tool to study one-neutron halo nuclei
in Physical Review C
Kievsky A
(2013)
Efimov Spectrum in Bosonic Systems with Increasing Number of Particles
in Few-Body Systems
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
Xu F
(2013)
New Studies on the Aspects of Nuclear Shapes
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Sethi J
(2013)
Structure of nearly degenerate dipole bands in 108Ag
in Physics Letters B
Litvinov Y
(2013)
Nuclear physics experiments with ion storage rings
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Al-Khalili J
(2013)
Nature's quantum subways
in Physics World
Guastalla G
(2013)
Coulomb excitation of 104Sn and the strength of the 100Sn shell closure.
in Physical review letters
Tostevin J
(2013)
Two-proton removal from 44 S and the structure of 42 Si
in Physical Review C
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
Hlophe L
(2013)
Separable representation of phenomenological optical potentials of Woods-Saxon type
in Physical Review C
Pang D
(2013)
Rapid convergence of the Weinberg expansion of the deuteron stripping amplitude
in Physical Review C
Caesar C
(2013)
Beyond the neutron drip line: The unbound oxygen isotopes 25 O and 26 O
in Physical Review C
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)
Use of commercial operational amplifiers in a low cost multi-channel preamplifier system
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Jordan D
(2013)
Total absorption study of the ß decay of 102 , 104 , 105 Tc
in Physical Review C
Shubina D
(2013)
Schottky mass measurements of heavy neutron-rich nuclides in the element range 70 = Z = 79 at the GSI Experimental Storage Ring
in Physical Review C
Al-Khalili Jim
(2013)
Scientific SOS
in NEW SCIENTIST
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. |