Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics

提案编号：0758100机构：圣母大学NSF认证：物理学？低能核科学与核天体物理学奖得主：Wiescher，MichaelTitle：核结构与核天体物理学摘要该奖项为继续支持圣母大学核科学实验室的研究提供资金。该实验室目前运行着三个加速器，并在核天体物理学和核结构物理学方面保持着积极的研究计划。虽然跨学科的研究机会为实验室引入了具有不同目标的新用户群，但核小组本身一直专注于低能核物理的核心项目。核天体物理学已经成为主要的研究方向，利用所有三个加速器。新的设备已经开发，这将提供新的机会，调查非常低的能量截面的反应有关的恒星燃烧。研究范围从恒星热核燃烧期间核反应的直接测量到远离稳定性的核过程的实验和理论研究，这些核过程与爆炸性恒星场景（如核心坍缩超新星到灾难性双星）中的核合成研究有关。核结构计划侧重于与核天体物理学问题密切相关的方面，如核质量的确定远不稳定同位素的衰变时间，弱束缚系统的核性质，核不可压缩性的测量，以及利用加速器质谱（AMS）研究稀有核合成过程。一个日益重要的倡议是研究高密度下核物质的命运，从浓缩核燃烧到确定核物质的不可压缩性。与这些努力并行的是，新的应用程序，如PIXE和AMS已经开发出来，目前正用于艺术，考古学，人类学，海洋学和寻找新形式的物质（弱相互作用大质量粒子）。该实验室为本科生和研究生提供了理想的招聘和培训环境。此外，该实验室涉及RET教师和REU学生在夏季的各种研究项目。

PROPOSAL NUMBER: 0758100INSTITUTION: University of Notre DameNSF PROGRAM: PHY ? LOW ENERGY NUCLEAR SCIENCE and NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICSPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Wiescher, MichaelTITLE: Nuclear Structure and Nuclear AstrophysicsABSTRACTThis award provides funds for continuing support of research at the University of Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory. The laboratory presently operates three accelerators and maintains an active research program in nuclear astrophysics and nuclear structure physics. While interdisciplinary research opportunities have introduced new user groups with different objectives to the laboratory, the nuclear group itself has maintained strong focus on its core program in low energy nuclear physics. Nuclear astrophysics has emerged as the main research direction, taking advantage of all three accelerators. New equipment has been developed which will provide new opportunities to investigate very low energy cross sections of reactions relevant for stellar burning. Studies range from the direct measurement of nuclear reactions during stellar thermonuclear burning to the experimental and theoretical investigation of nuclear processes far from stability which are relevant for the study of nucleosynthesis in explosive stellar scenarios such as core collapse supernovae to cataclysmic binary stars.The nuclear structure program has focused on aspects closely correlated to nuclear astrophysics questions such as the determination of nuclear masses and decay times for far off stability isotopes, the nuclear properties of weakly bound systems, the measurement of nuclear incompressibility, and the study of rare nucleosynthesis processes using accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS). An increasingly important initiative is the study of the fate of nuclear matter at high densities, ranging from pycnonuclear burning to the determination of the incompressibility of nuclear matter. Parallel to these efforts new applied programs such as PIXE and AMS have been developed which are presently being utilized for applications in Art, Archaeology, and Anthropology, in Oceanography, and in the search of new forms of matter (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). The laboratory provides an ideal recruitment and training environment for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the lab involves RET teachers and REU students in various research projects over the summer.