Nuclear astrophysics with exotic and stable ion beams

原子核的性质如何影响恒星？构成我们的世界和我们的元素的起源是什么？我的研究重点是在实验室测量回答这个问题所需的核过程和性质。我们现在知道，核过程是我们所看到的星光的原因，也是我们周围几乎所有化学元素的产生的原因，包括那些构成我们身体的化学元素。特别是，许多比铁更重的元素必须在极热的恒星中产生，温度高达10亿度，而这种温度只能在某些恒星爆炸中找到，例如超新星、新星和X射线爆发。在这种温度下，决定能量产生和核合成的原子核不是人们熟悉的、稳定的原子核，而是不稳定的原子核，一旦形成，就会迅速衰变。关于这些不稳定核如何行为的实验信息对于我们理解这些爆炸是如何发生的至关重要，但它们在实验室中极难产生。这些核物理信息，加上对这些正在爆炸的恒星的建模和观测方面的改进，将有助于我们了解它们是如何发生的，从而阐明我们自己的宇宙史。

How do the properties of atomic nuclei affect the stars? What is the origin of the elements that make up our world and us? My research focuses on measuring in the laboratory the nuclear processes and properties required to answer this question. We now know that nuclear processes are responsible for the starlight that we see, and for producing almost all the chemical elements around us, including the ones that make up our bodies. In particular, many of the elements heavier than iron must be made in stars that are extremely hot, up to a billion degrees, and these temperatures can only be found in certain stellar explosions, such as supernovae, novae, and X-ray bursts, for example. At these temperatures, the atomic nuclei that determine the energy generation and the nucleosynthesis are not the familiar, stable ones, but rather are unstable nuclei that, once formed, decay away quickly. Experimental information on how these unstable nuclei behave is crucial for our understanding of how these explosions happen, but they are extremely difficult to produce in the laboratory. This nuclear physics information, together with improvements in the modeling and observations of these exploding stars, will help us understand how they happen, thereby elucidating a piece of our own cosmic history.