MRI/RUI: Acquisition of a High-Rate Data Analysis System for Nuclear Astrophysics Research

核天体物理学已经开发出一个非常成功的恒星新星爆炸模型，该模型基于一系列反应，在这些反应中，质子被原子核捕获，高能电磁辐射以伽马射线的形式释放。这些反应的概率决定了恒星爆炸事件的时间尺度，在许多情况下是未知的。这些概率的测量是世界各地许多研究机构的一个重要研究课题。在许多这样的研究中，高效率的伽马射线探测系统将大大提高这些测量的灵敏度。该项目的目的是建立一个高效和通用的伽马探测器系统，用于核物理和核天体物理的实验研究。该系统将与带电粒子探测器系统和光谱仪一起在美国的几个实验室使用(其中大多数实验室能够产生“奇异”的离子束)。探测器系统的部件将在普渡大学Calumet本科生的帮助下进行维护和校准。学生将学习现代核物理实验的基本技能和技术，并将与佛罗里达州立大学、橡树岭国家实验室、密歇根州立大学和阿贡国家实验室的研究人员合作，协助建立探测器阵列。

Nuclear Astrophysics has developed a very successful model of stellar nova explosions based on a series of reactions in which protons are captured by atomic nuclei and high-energy electromagnetic radiation is released in the form of gamma rays. The probabilities of these reactions determine the time scale for the stellar explosion events and are unknown in many cases. The measurement of these probabilities is a prominent research subject at a number of research facilities around the world. In many of these studies, a high-efficiency gamma-ray detection system would provide a great increase in sensitivity for these measurements. The aim of this project is to establish an efficient and versatile gamma-detector system which will be used for experimental research in nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics. The system will be used at several laboratories (most of which are capable of producing "exotic" ion beams) in the United States in conjunction with charged-particle detector systems and spectrometers. Thecomponents of the detector system will be maintained and calibrated with the help of Undergraduate students at Purdue University Calumet.The students will learn essential skills and techniques of modern Nuclear Physics experiments, and will assist in the setup of the detector array in collaboration with researchers at Florida State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Michigan State University, and Argonne National Laboratory.