RUI: Exploring Nuclear Structure through Collaborative Research

原子核是由质子和中子组成的。对于较轻的元素，质子数通常等于原子核中的中子数。然而，原子核中也存在额外的中子，或称富含中子的原子核，它们是不稳定的，会经历原子核衰变。这个项目的重点是研究这些丰中子的不稳定核，并将研究核科学中与原子核整体结构有关的关键问题：极端丰中子物质的基本性质是什么，核存在的极限是什么？该项目将由葛底斯堡学院的本科生和一名教员与模块中子阵列(MONA)和国家超导回旋实验室(NSCL)的大面积多机构闪烁阵列(LISA)合作进行。在这笔资金的支持下，葛底斯堡学院的学生将学习重要的新物理，因为他们开发了成为学术界和工业界研究人员所需的工具。本科生和他们的教职员工正在以各种方式推动该领域的发展，从稀有同位素束如何与物质相互作用到令人兴奋的两中子放射性的可能性。目标包括在NSCL以两种不同的方式实验制造He-9，以不仅阐明相互矛盾的先前结果，而且还更好地理解“晕核”He-10。测量O-26的寿命可以确认一种新的放射性模式。一个侧重于射弹碎裂产生机制的分析项目将影响物理学界目前对放射性束流设施的束流产生机制的有限了解。所有拟议的工作都将涉及本科生研究人员。

Atomic nuclei are made up of protons and neutrons. For the lighter elements the number of protons is very often equal to the number of neutrons in the nucleus. However, nuclei also exist in which there are extra neutrons, or neutron-rich nuclei, which are unstable and undergo nuclear decay. This project focuses on the study of these neutron-rich unstable nuclei and will investigate key questions in nuclear science related to the overall structure of nuclei: What are the fundamental properties of extremely neutron-rich matter and what is the limit of nuclear existence? The project will be carried out by Gettysburg College undergraduates and a faculty member with the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) Collaboration and Large area multi-Institutional Scintillation Array (LISA) at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). Gettysburg College students supported by this funding will learn significant new physics as they develop the tools necessary to be researchers in academia and industry. Undergraduate students and their faculty are advancing the field in various ways, ranging from how beams of rare isotopes interact with matter to the exciting possibility of two-neutron radioactivity. Objectives include creating He-9 two different ways experimentally at the NSCL to not only shed light on conflicting prior results but also to better understand the "halo" nucleus He-10. Measuring the lifetime of O-26 could confirm a new mode of radioactivity. An analysis project focusing on the production mechanism for projectile fragmentation will impact the physics community's currently limited understanding of beam production mechanics at radioactive beam facilities. All proposed work will involve undergraduate researchers.