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
Sanetullaev A
(2014)
Neutron spectroscopic factors of 55 Ni hole-states from ( p , d ) transfer reactions
in Physics Letters B
Agramunt J
(2014)
New Beta-delayed Neutron Measurements in the Light-mass Fission Group
in Nuclear Data Sheets
Matta A
(2015)
New findings on structure and production of He 10 from Li 11 with the ( d , He 3 ) reaction
in Physical Review C
Gottardo A
(2012)
New isomers in the full seniority scheme of neutron-rich lead isotopes: the role of effective three-body forces.
in Physical review letters
Gottardo A
(2014)
New Isomers in the Neutron-Rich Region Beyond 208 Pb
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Chen L
(2012)
New results on mass measurements of stored neutron-rich nuclides in the element range from Pt to U with the FRS-ESR facility at
in Nuclear Physics A
Xu F
(2013)
New Studies on the Aspects of Nuclear Shapes
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Gottardo A
(2013)
New µs isomers in the neutron-rich 210 Hg nucleus
in Physics Letters B
Bailey G
(2017)
Nonlocal nucleon-nucleus interactions in ( d , p ) reactions: Role of the deuteron D state
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk NK
(2013)
Nonlocality in deuteron stripping reactions.
in Physical review letters
Timofeyuk N
(2013)
Nonlocality in the adiabatic model of A ( d , p ) B reactions
in Physical Review C
Matta A
(2016)
NPTool: a simulation and analysis framework for low-energy nuclear physics experiments
in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
De Roubin A
(2017)
Nuclear deformation in the A ˜ 100 region: Comparison between new masses and mean-field predictions
in Physical Review C
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
Cáceres L
(2015)
Nuclear structure studies of F 24
in Physical Review C
Gade A
(2014)
Nuclear structure towards N = 40 60Ca: in-beam ?-ray spectroscopy of 58,60Ti.
in Physical review letters
Somà V
(2014)
Nucleon mean-free path in the medium
in EPJ Web of Conferences
Kobayashi N
(2014)
Observation of a p-wave one-neutron halo configuration in (37)Mg.
in Physical review letters
Sumikama T
(2021)
Observation of new neutron-rich isotopes in the vicinity of Zr 110
in Physical Review C
Orrigo S
(2016)
Observation of the 2 + isomer in Co 52
in Physical Review C
Scott M
(2017)
Observation of the Isovector Giant Monopole Resonance via the ^{28}Si(^{10}Be,^{10}B^{*}[1.74 MeV]) Reaction at 100 AMeV.
in Physical review letters
Orrigo SE
(2014)
Observation of the ß-delayed ?-proton decay of (56)Zn and its impact on the Gamow-Teller strength evaluation.
in Physical review letters
Walker P
(2012)
On the possibility of enhanced fission stability for broken-pair excitations
in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Kobayashi N
(2012)
One- and two-neutron removal reactions from the most neutron-rich carbon isotopes
in Physical Review C
Gade A
(2016)
One-neutron pickup into Ca 49 : Bound neutron g 9 / 2 spectroscopic strength at N = 29
in Physical Review C
Kobayashi N
(2016)
One-neutron removal from Ne 29 : Defining the lower limits of the island of inversion
in Physical Review C
Banu A
(2012)
One-proton breakup of 24 Si and the 23 Al( p , ? ) 24 Si reaction in type I x-ray bursts
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
Ding D
(2016)
Pairing in high-density neutron matter including short- and long-range correlations
in Physical Review C
Bowry M
(2013)
Population of high-spin isomeric states following fragmentation of 238 U
in Physical Review C
Collins SM
(2015)
Precise measurements of the absolute ?-ray emission probabilities of (223)Ra and decay progeny in equilibrium.
in Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
Regan P
(2015)
Precision measurement of sub-nanosecond lifetimes of excited nuclear states using fast-timing coincidences with LaBr3(Ce) detectors
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Britton R
(2012)
Preliminary simulations of NaI(Tl) detectors, and coincidence analysis using event stamping
in Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Wimmer K
(2012)
Probing elastic and inelastic breakup contributions to intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions
in Physical Review C
Rosenbusch M
(2015)
Probing the N=32 Shell Closure below the Magic Proton Number Z=20: Mass Measurements of the Exotic Isotopes ^{52,53}K.
in Physical review letters
Larijani C
(2015)
Progress towards the production of the 236gNp standard sources and competing fission fragment production
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Simpson E
(2012)
Projectile deformation effects on single-nucleon removal reactions
in Physical Review C
Shane R
(2012)
Proton and neutron knockout from 36 Ca
in Physical Review C
Nakhostin M
(2014)
Pulse-Shape Discrimination of Alpha Particles of Different Specific Energy-Loss With Parallel-Plate Avalanche Counters
in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science
Morrison L
(2020)
Quadrupole deformation of Xe 130 measured in a Coulomb-excitation experiment
in Physical Review C
Stone N
(2013)
Quasi-particle and collective magnetism: Rotation, pairing and blocking in high-K isomers
in Physics Letters B
Atar L
(2018)
Quasifree (p, 2p) Reactions on Oxygen Isotopes: Observation of Isospin Independence of the Reduced Single-Particle Strength.
in Physical review letters
Pang D
(2013)
Rapid convergence of the Weinberg expansion of the deuteron stripping amplitude
in Physical Review C
Jones K
(2015)
Recent Direct Reaction Experimental Studies with Radioactive Tin Beams
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Larijani C
(2017)
Reference materials produced for a European metrological research project focussing on measurements of NORM.
in Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
Peters W
(2012)
Reply to "Comment on 'Neutron knockout of 12 Be populating neutron-unbound states in 11 Be ' "
in Physical Review C
Chen F
(2012)
Residual interactions and the K -mixing-induced fast decay of the three-quasiparticle isomer in 171 Tm
in Physical Review C
Freer M
(2012)
Resonances in 11 C observed in the 4 He( 7 Be , a ) 7 Be and 4 He( 7 Be , p ) 10 B reactions
in Physical Review C
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. |