Nuclear Structure Studies with 4pi Detector Arrays

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

0072362 Cline This research program exploits the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator facilities available to probe the structure of nuclei. Coulomb excitation is used to study the dominant collective modes of motion in nuclei and double-photon decay. Heavy-ion induced transfer is used to probe single-particle and pairing degrees of freedom as well as to populate neutron-rich nuclei. Fission-fragment spectroscopy is used to populate highly neutron-rich nuclei. The research is centered primarily on the DOE-supported Gammasphere facility; the world's premier 4-pi (full angular coverage) gamma-ray array facility for nuclear structure research. The Rochester 4-pi heavy-ion detector, CHICO (Compact Heavy Ion Counter), significantly expands the research capabilities of Gammasphere making it an important component of this national facility. The combination of CHICO and Gammasphere makes it viable to utilize coincidences of high-fold gamma-rays to provide an enormous advance in selectivity and sensitivity. The development of CHICO, contributions to Gammasphere and the techniques of Coulomb excitation, heavy-ion induced transfer, and fission, are the culmination of many years of effort at Rochester. They open exciting new research opportunities for making significant scientific advances in nuclear structure physics. In addition, the Yale-Rochester 4-pi gamma-ray array, YRAST, which is coupled to the Yale 20MV tandem accelerator, is a powerful facility that is used to complement the research program at the oversubscribed Gammasphere facility.