U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science: Nuclear Incompressibility and the Exotic Compressional Modes in Nuclei

University Of Notre Dame, Notre Dame IN

Investigators

Abstract

9910015 Garg This award supports a three year collaborative research project between Professor Umesh Garg of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Professor Mamoru Fujiwara of Osaka University in Japan. The researchers will be undertaking a study of nuclear incompressibility and the exotic compressional modes in nuclei. The goal of this research is to gain new insight into the compressibility properties of bulk nuclear matter. The proposed measurements aim at investigating the Isoscalar Giant Dipole Resonance (ISGDR) in detail. The ISGDR is arguably the least studied of the low-l isoscalar giant resonances. However, it's enormous importance lies in the fact that it is a compressional mode and the energy of the ISGDR is related to the nuclear incompressibility Ka. The project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. The work on nuclear compressibility has crucial bearing on our knowledge of the nuclear equation of state that in turn will greatly enhance our understanding of many interesting phenomena like supernova explosions, neutron stars, and collective flow in heavy-ion collisions. This research involves state-of-art technologies in vacuum systems, high-strength magnets, electronics circuitry and computer interfacing. The project advances international human resources through the participation of a postdoc, graduate students, an undergraduate and a high school student. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. Results of the research will be published in international scientific journals and also presented at scientific meetings in the U.S. and abroad. ***