US-Belgium Cooperative Research: Nuclear Astrophysics with Radioactive and Isomeric Beams and Targets

该奖项将支持美国和比利时物理学家在核天体物理学方面的持续合作研究。该美国小组由乔治城大学的威廉·罗德尼博士指导。比利时的合作者是卢万核物理研究所的J.Vervier博士。该项目的目标是利用放射性束流进行一系列实验，以测量对理解核合成非常重要的截面。在新星、超新星、X射线爆发和可能的早期宇宙中，温度和密度使得一些放射性核素(和同分异构体)的寿命与质子或阿尔法粒子引发的核反应摧毁它们的燃烧时间相当。在这些情况下，在开发恒星演化和核合成的模型时必须考虑到这些反应。因此，使用放射性靶标和/或射束的可能性正受到核物理界越来越多的关注。在这个项目中，拟议的实验代表着朝着提供所需横截面信息的方向迈出了重要的一步。卢万-拉-诺夫耦合回旋加速器装置将能够产生进行实验所需的束流强度。美国目前还没有能够进行这种辐射束测量的设施。这项研究将受益于罗德尼博士在核天体物理学方面的专业知识，以及他的研究小组在活跃的核实验方面的背景。这项研究的结果将有助于我们理解恒星的演化和恒星中的核合成。

This award will support continued collaborative research in nuclear astrophysics between US and Belgian physicists. The US group is under the direction of Dr. William Rodney, Georgetown University. The Belgian collaborator is Dr. J. Vervier, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Louvain. The objective of this project is to carry out a program of experiments using radioactive beams to measure cross-sections important to understanding nucleosynthesis. In novae, supernovae, X-ray bursters and possibly in the early universe, the temperature and density were such that the lifetimes of some radioactive (and isomeric) nuclides were comparable to the burning times for their destruction by proton or alpha particle induced nuclear reactions. In these instances, these reactions must be taken into account in developing models for stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. Thus, the potential for the use of radioactive targets and/or beams is receiving increasing attention in the nuclear physics community. In this project, proposed experiments represent a major step in the direction of providing the needed cross-section information. The Louvain-la-Neuve coupled cyclotron facility will be able to produce the required beam intensity to carry out the experiments. There are no existing US facilities capable of such radioactive beam measurements. The research will benefit from Dr. Rodney's expertise in nuclear astrophysics and the background of his research group in active nuclear experimentation. The results of this research will contribute to our understanding of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis in stars.