Operation of the Stony Brook Linac for Weak Interaction Measurements in Francium and Nuclear Structure Studies

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Stony Brook Superconducting LINAC is a low-energy heavy ion accelerator with a broadly based research program that studies special properties of nuclei and atoms. The research emphasizes frontier issues in physics. The rare element, francium, has been produced and trapped with lasers, and work is now going on to measure the anapole moments of several francium nuclei. The anapole moment arises from the weak interactions between neutrons and protons in the nucleus. Other research focuses on unusual nuclei that exhibit a "handedness" to their structure, and nuclei that are stressed by large excitation energy, large amounts of angular momentum or large difference in neutrons from that of stable nuclei. The Stony Brook Nuclear Structure Laboratory also serves as a focus of many educational activities. Students at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels participate in the research program with various intensities, from beam line construction to running actual experiments.