Single-nucleon effects revealed through gamma-ray and particle spectroscopy

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We do not yet have a full understanding of what makes some nuclear isotopes stable while others exist for mere microseconds. We do not yet know exactly how the reactions in stars create the chemical elements that we have on earth today. We are still, after many years of looking, trying to find a complete description of the way the stuff of nuclear matter behaves. My own efforts to help resolve this puzzle mainly follow a technique of very closely studying a few examples of nuclear isotopes. Have you ever noticed how very fit people are usually the warmest in the room? The more muscle mass a person has, the more efficient they are at shedding extra energy in the form of heat. A nucleus that is spherical will shed excess energy in the form of a high-energy bundle called a gamma ray. Nuclei that are not shaped like spheres tend to reduce their excess energy through many lower-energy gamma rays. Observing the gamma rays emitted by nuclei shedding excess energy lets me learn about their shapes, which in turn reveals the way that they will behave in response to external forces. In my research, I focus on the way that adding just one little piece of a nucleus, called a nucleon, to an isotope can dramatically change its shape and behaviour. By understanding these few special cases very well, I can help theorists who ask the more general question of how all nuclear material interacts stay pointed in the right direction.