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

我们还没有完全理解是什么使一些核同位素稳定，而另一些只存在几微秒。我们还不能确切地知道恒星中的反应是如何产生我们今天在地球上使用的化学元素的。经过多年的观察，我们仍在试图找到一种完整的描述核物质的行为方式。我自己帮助解决这个难题的努力主要是遵循一种技术，即非常仔细地研究几个核同位素的例子。你有没有注意到非常健康的人通常是房间里最温暖的人？一个人的肌肉越多，他们以热量的形式释放额外能量的效率就越高。一个球形的原子核会以一种叫做伽马射线的高能束的形式释放多余的能量。形状不像球体的原子核倾向于通过许多低能伽马射线来减少它们多余的能量。观察原子核释放出的伽马射线，释放出多余的能量，让我了解了它们的形状，进而揭示了它们在外力作用下的行为方式。在我的研究中，我关注的是如何在同位素中加入一小块原子核，也就是核子，就能极大地改变它的形状和行为。通过很好地理解这几个特殊情况，我可以帮助那些提出更普遍问题的理论家，即所有核材料如何相互作用，保持在正确的方向上。

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.