Nuclear Structure Studies with 4 pi Detector Arrays

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research program exploits the Rochester 4p heavy-ion detector CHICO, plus Gammasphere, this nation's premier high-resolution gamma-ray facility, at heavy-ion beam facilities in order to probe the structure of nuclei at high angular momentum as well as far from stability. The Yale-Rochester YRAST gamma-ray detector array, which is coupled to the Yale 20MV tandem accelerator, will be used to complement the proposed research program at Gammasphere. The developments of CHICO, contributions to Gammasphere, and the techniques of Coulomb excitation, heavy-ion induced transfer, and fission-fragment spectroscopy, are the culmination of many years of effort at Rochester. These are used to study collective modes of motion in nuclei, to probe single-particle and pairing degrees of freedom and to explore exotic neutron-rich nuclei far from stability. The research has applications such as the planned studies of exotic metastable (isomeric) states in nuclei may provide a means of using stimulated isomer decay for energy storage or for building gamma-ray lasers. Cline will continue to be involved in the development of the next generation high-resolution gamma-ray detector technology that employs the new concept of tracking the location and energy of every gamma-ray interaction. Such detectors will provide a resolving power that is orders of magnitude better than currently available, enabling studies that at present are inaccessible to nuclear science. Besides having an enormous impact on nuclear science, the potential impact of such gamma-ray tracking and imaging detectors will be considerable to a wide range of applications, including astrophysics, medicine, industry, and nuclear safeguards. The proposed research program will be an ideal environment for graduate and post-doctoral education.