RUI: High Impact Nuclear Physics Research with Undergraduates

众所周知，我们最熟悉的轻而稳定的原子核是由数量大致相等的质子和中子组成的。这个项目将探索远不稳定，因此不太熟悉的富中子核的结构。这将提供一个重要的理解，可以在爆炸的天体物理环境中发现的原子核的核力的微妙之处，如超新星。这些实验将帮助我们了解宇宙中观测到的元素的不同丰度，除了让学生参与这些基本问题的研究之外。此外，霍普学院的应用核物理学工作将使用传统的加速器技术对含有令人关切的化学物质的消费品和环境样品进行快速测试。用于法医应用的汽车涂料样品的无损表征工作将继续进行。在国家超导回旋加速器实验室（NSCL）进行的不稳定核实验（氦-9和氧-26的激发态）将用模块化中子阵列测量衰变中子，同时发射的带电碎片被高场偶极磁铁偏转到定时和能量探测器中。衰变核的性质将用不变质谱法测定。天体物理测量也将在国家科学实验室进行，使用Summing NaI探测器，并辅以内部beta探测器或在霍普学院建造的内部气体室。拟议研究的跨学科应用物理部分，由希望加速器完成，主要基于粒子诱导伽马射线发射、粒子诱导x射线发射和卢瑟福后向散射光谱。

It is a well-known fact that light, stable nuclei, those with which we are most familiar, are made up of roughly equal numbers of protons and neutrons. This project will explore the structure of neutron-rich nuclei that are far from stability and consequently much less familiar. This will provide a vital understanding of the subtleties of the nuclear force in nuclei that can be found in explosive astrophysical environments, such as a supernova. These experiments will help us to understand the different abundances of the observed elements in the universe, in addition to engaging students in the study of these fundamental questions. In addition, the applied nuclear physics efforts at Hope College will use traditional accelerator techniques for the rapid testing of consumer goods and environmental samples containing chemicals of concern. Work on non-destructive characterization of automotive paint samples for forensic applications will continue. Experiments producing unstable nuclei at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) (excited states of helium-9 and oxygen-26) will measure decay neutrons with the Modular Neutron Array, while emitted charged fragments are deflected with a high-field dipole magnet into timing and energy detectors. The properties of the decaying nucleus will be determined with invariant mass spectroscopy. Astrophysics measurements will also be done at the NSCL with the Summing NaI Detector supplemented with an internal beta detector or an internal gas cell constructed at Hope College. The interdisciplinary applied physics portion of the proposed research, done with the Hope accelerator, is principally based on particle induced gamma-ray emission, particle induced x-ray emission, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy.