Nuclear Physics at the Extremes: Theory & Experiment
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
For a hundred years, atomic nuclei have been probed more or less exclusively by studying collisions between stable beams and stable targets. This restricted the nuclei that could be studied to just a just a small fraction of those that are thought to exist. Most of the nuclei important to making all of the elements (in various stellar processes) have for example been inaccessible to experiment. The major thrust in nuclear physics worldwide, and a key priority in the UK's programme, is to reach out and study these exotic nuclei by using beams produced from short-lived radioactive isotopes. This in turn reveals that nuclear structure is not always like it seems to be for the stable nuclei, and nuclei are found to have surprising trends in stability and to have different shapes that will affect reaction rates inside stars and supernovae. At Surrey we take these UK priorities and the new opportunities very much to heart, and we seek out and lead programmes at the world's best facilities for making these radioactive beams. To make the beams is difficult and the facilities - as well as the research effort - are international in scale. Surrey builds and runs innovative experimental equipment at these facilities. The present grant request is focused on the exploitation of these capabilities at the best laboratories.
Experimental progress is intimately linked with theory, and the development of novel and better theoretical approaches are a hallmark of the Surrey group. An outstanding feature of the group as a whole, which is key to our research plans and acknowledged as a rare and valuable strength, is our powerful 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's road map. 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. It is unknown whether, and to what extent, the neutrons and protons can show different collective behaviour or even how many neutrons can bind to a given number of protons. It is features such as these that determine how stars explode. To tackle these problems, we need a more sophisticated understanding of the nuclear force, we need more powerful theories that can build this understanding into the calculations, and we need experimental information about nuclei with unusual numbers of neutrons relative to protons so that we can test our theoretical ideas. 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. Much of our activity addresses this "neutron rich" territory, exploiting the new capabilities made possible with radioactive beams and exploiting advances in computational power and analytical theories to bring superior new theoretical tools to bear on the latest observations.
Our principal motivation is the basic science and the STFC "big questions", and we contribute strongly to the world sum of knowledge and understanding. The radiation-detector advances that our work drives can be incorporated in medical diagnosis and treatment and in environmental management. We engage strongly with the National Physical Laboratory on these topics. 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. Furthermore, we have a keen interest in sharing our specialist knowledge with a wide audience, and actively pursue a public engagement agenda.
Experimental progress is intimately linked with theory, and the development of novel and better theoretical approaches are a hallmark of the Surrey group. An outstanding feature of the group as a whole, which is key to our research plans and acknowledged as a rare and valuable strength, is our powerful 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's road map. 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. It is unknown whether, and to what extent, the neutrons and protons can show different collective behaviour or even how many neutrons can bind to a given number of protons. It is features such as these that determine how stars explode. To tackle these problems, we need a more sophisticated understanding of the nuclear force, we need more powerful theories that can build this understanding into the calculations, and we need experimental information about nuclei with unusual numbers of neutrons relative to protons so that we can test our theoretical ideas. 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. Much of our activity addresses this "neutron rich" territory, exploiting the new capabilities made possible with radioactive beams and exploiting advances in computational power and analytical theories to bring superior new theoretical tools to bear on the latest observations.
Our principal motivation is the basic science and the STFC "big questions", and we contribute strongly to the world sum of knowledge and understanding. The radiation-detector advances that our work drives can be incorporated in medical diagnosis and treatment and in environmental management. We engage strongly with the National Physical Laboratory on these topics. 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. Furthermore, we have a keen interest in sharing our specialist knowledge with a wide audience, and actively pursue a public engagement agenda.
Planned Impact
The proposed research will benefit end users in the nuclear industry, such as AWE, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the Environment Agency, BAE systems, Public Heath England and radiation detection instrumentation manufacturers such as Kromek, Canberra and ORTEC, through trained manpower (PhDs, PDRAs and graduates from the two Surrey MSc programmes on Medical Physics and Radiation and Environmental Protection) as well as the carefully measured and evaluated nuclear decay and structure data provided by the group. The Surrey group's formal links with the NPL Radioactivity Group as part of the wider NPL-Surrey partnership provide the ideal bridge to facilitate this. The Surrey/NPL link is crucial to the STFC funded UK Nuclear Data Network and provides a direct link to the UK Nuclear Science Forum (UKNSF), which is responsible for the industrial end users of nuclear data within the UK. Additional links with major end users of nuclear data include work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Nuclear medicine clinics worldwide measure the radioactivity content of radiopharmaceuticals, such as radium, immediately prior to administration (for patient safety and regulatory compliance). Beneficiaries of our research will therefore also be the 3000 (and growing) nuclear medicine clinics worldwide. The group's work in this field will contribute towards improved safety and effectiveness of treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide undergoing cancer therapy. It will also enable a major pharmaceutical company to meet regulatory requirements, and proceed with clinical trials on further alpha-particle emitting radiopharmaceuticals.
The many varied public engagement activities of the group will benefit wider society, whether it be schools, the media, policy makers or the wider public. The group will continue to contribute to the dissemination of expert knowledge and advice when science stories aligned with its research are in the news by talking to journalists in both the written and broadcast media and being prepared to be interviewed in the press, as they have done successfully for a number of years.
Through the various outreach activities to schools, science festivals, articles in the popular press, popular science books and television and radio programmes, the group will aim to 'inspire, enlighten and enthuse' not only the next generation of scientists and engineers, but those to whom the young turn for academic and career advice, such as parents and teachers.
Members of the group will provide expert advice on issues relating to this research and the wider area of nuclear and radiation physics and nuclear safety, to government committees and policy makers to ensure that, on such sensitive and often complex topics, policies are evidence based and founded on the most accurate available scientific knowledge.
Nuclear medicine clinics worldwide measure the radioactivity content of radiopharmaceuticals, such as radium, immediately prior to administration (for patient safety and regulatory compliance). Beneficiaries of our research will therefore also be the 3000 (and growing) nuclear medicine clinics worldwide. The group's work in this field will contribute towards improved safety and effectiveness of treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide undergoing cancer therapy. It will also enable a major pharmaceutical company to meet regulatory requirements, and proceed with clinical trials on further alpha-particle emitting radiopharmaceuticals.
The many varied public engagement activities of the group will benefit wider society, whether it be schools, the media, policy makers or the wider public. The group will continue to contribute to the dissemination of expert knowledge and advice when science stories aligned with its research are in the news by talking to journalists in both the written and broadcast media and being prepared to be interviewed in the press, as they have done successfully for a number of years.
Through the various outreach activities to schools, science festivals, articles in the popular press, popular science books and television and radio programmes, the group will aim to 'inspire, enlighten and enthuse' not only the next generation of scientists and engineers, but those to whom the young turn for academic and career advice, such as parents and teachers.
Members of the group will provide expert advice on issues relating to this research and the wider area of nuclear and radiation physics and nuclear safety, to government committees and policy makers to ensure that, on such sensitive and often complex topics, policies are evidence based and founded on the most accurate available scientific knowledge.
Organisations
Publications
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
Larijani C
(2017)
Progress on the chemical separation of fission fragments from 236 Np produced by proton irradiation of natural uranium target
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
De Roubin A
(2017)
Nuclear deformation in the A ˜ 100 region: Comparison between new masses and mean-field predictions
in Physical Review C
Rios A
(2017)
Comparison of nuclear Hamiltonians using spectral function sum rules
in Physical Review C
Welker A
(2017)
Binding Energy of ^{79}Cu: Probing the Structure of the Doubly Magic ^{78}Ni from Only One Proton Away.
in Physical review letters
Caballero-Folch R
(2017)
ß -decay half-lives and ß -delayed neutron emission probabilities for several isotopes of Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, and Bi, beyond N = 126
in Physical Review C
Timofeyuk N
(2017)
Hyperspherical Harmonics Expansion on Lagrange Meshes for Bosonic Systems in One Dimension
in Few-Body Systems
Morales A
(2017)
Simultaneous investigation of the T = 1 ( J p = 0 + ) and T = 0 ( J p = 9 + ) ß decays in Br 70
in Physical Review C
Gurgi L
(2017)
Isomer spectroscopy of neutron-rich 168Tb103
in Radiation Physics and Chemistry
Idini A
(2017)
Ab Initio Optical Potentials and Nucleon Scattering on Medium Mass Nuclei
in Acta Physica Polonica B
Bailey G
(2017)
Nonlocal nucleon-nucleus interactions in ( d , p ) reactions: Role of the deuteron D state
in Physical Review C
Walker P
(2017)
Isomer building blocks and K -forbidden decays
in Physica Scripta
Gonzalez-Boquera C
(2017)
Higher-order symmetry energy and neutron star core-crust transition with Gogny forces
in Physical Review C
Kievsky A
(2017)
Saturation properties of helium drops from a leading-order description
in Physical Review A
Wood R
(2017)
Three-quasiparticle isomer in Ta 173 and the excitation energy dependence of K -forbidden transition rates
in Physical Review C
Crawford H
(2017)
Unexpected distribution of ? 1 f 7 / 2 strength in Ca 49
in Physical Review C
Guadilla V
(2017)
Experimental study of Tc 100 ß decay with total absorption ? -ray spectroscopy
in Physical Review C
Browne F
(2017)
K selection in the decay of the ( ? 5 2 [ 532 ] ? 3 2 [ 411 ] ) 4 - isomeric state in Zr 102
in Physical Review C
Wu X
(2017)
Systematic study of multi-quasiparticle K -isomeric bands in tungsten isotopes by the extended projected shell model
in Physical Review C
Daniel T
(2017)
? -ray spectroscopy of low-lying excited states and shape competition in Os 194
in Physical Review C
Caballero-Folch R
(2018)
First determination of ß -delayed multiple neutron emission beyond A = 100 through direct neutron measurement: The P 2 n value of Sb 136
in Physical Review C
Stevenson P
(2018)
Low-Energy Heavy-Ion Reactions and the Skyrme Effective Interaction
Schuetrumpf B
(2018)
The TDHF code Sky3D version 1.1
in Computer Physics Communications
Marmugi L
(2018)
Coherent gamma photon generation in a Bose-Einstein condensate of 135 m Cs
in Physics Letters B
Wen K
(2018)
Two-body dissipation effect in nuclear fusion reactions
in Physical Review C
Fernández-Domínguez B
(2018)
Re-examining the transition into the N = 20 island of inversion: Structure of 30Mg
in Physics Letters B
McIlroy C
(2018)
Doubly magic nuclei from lattice QCD forces at M PS = 469 MeV / c 2
in Physical Review C
Diaz-Torres A
(2018)
Characterizing the astrophysical S factor for C 12 + C 12 fusion with wave-packet dynamics
in Physical Review C
Atar L
(2018)
Quasifree (p, 2p) Reactions on Oxygen Isotopes: Observation of Isospin Independence of the Reduced Single-Particle Strength.
in Physical review letters
Idini A
(2018)
Ab initio optical potentials and nucleon scattering on medium mass nuclei
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Leistenschneider E
(2018)
Dawning of the N=32 Shell Closure Seen through Precision Mass Measurements of Neutron-Rich Titanium Isotopes.
in Physical review letters
Gómez-Ramos M
(2018)
Reduced sensitivity of the ( d , p ) cross sections to the deuteron model beyond the adiabatic approximation
in Physical Review C
Rocco N
(2018)
Inclusive electron-nucleus cross section within the self-consistent Green's function approach
in Physical Review C
Collins SM
(2018)
Investigation of ?-? coincidence counting using the National Nuclear Array (NANA) as a primary standard.
in Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine
Timofeyuk N
(2018)
Three-nucleon force contribution in the distorted-wave theory of ( d , p ) reactions
in Physical Review C
Diaz-Torres A
(2018)
Identifying resonances with wave-packet dynamics
Reiter M
(2018)
Quenching of the N = 32 neutron shell closure studied via precision mass measurements of neutron-rich vanadium isotopes
in Physical Review C
Divaratne D
(2018)
One- and two-neutron removal cross sections of O 24
in Physical Review C
Giatzoglou A
(2018)
A facility for production and laser cooling of cesium isotopes and isomers
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Raimondi F
(2018)
Algebraic diagrammatic construction formalism with three-body interactions
in Physical Review C
Nakhostin M
(2018)
Pulse-height loss in the signal readout circuit of compound semiconductor detectors
in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Title | The TDHF code Sky3D version 1.1 |
Description | The nuclear mean-field model based on Skyrme forces or related density functionals has found widespread application to the description of nuclear ground states, collective vibrational excitations, and heavy-ion collisions. The code Sky3D solves the static or dynamic equations on a three-dimensional Cartesian mesh with isolated or periodic boundary conditions and no further symmetry assumptions. Pairing can be included in the BCS approximation for the static case. The code is implemented with a view to allow easy modifications for including additional physics or special analysis of the results. The previous version of this program (AESW_v1_0) may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2014.04.008. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/vzbrzvyrn4/1 |