Nuclear Physics consolidated grant

一百年前，欧内斯特·卢瑟福“发现”了原子核。它由原子中心的微小的大质量核心组成。我们现在知道原子核是由质子和中子组成的，这些粒子本身也是由夸克组成的，但这不能让我们对任何给定的原子核或同位素的行为做出完整的预测。该系统过于复杂，涉及四种力中的三种：电磁力、弱核力和强核力。原子核的行为通常被描述为一种紧急现象，因为它不容易从其组成部分中预测出来。这推动了理论工作和以精确测量为基准的理论的需要。我们的小组研究原子核的几个有趣的方面：我们研究原子核的稳定性极限，特别是那些质子过剩的原子核，以及那些具有相同数量的质子和中子的原子核(N=Z原子核)。这些原子核表现出特殊的对称性，与这些对称性的偏离告诉我们关于相互竞争的核模型的有效性的非常详细的信息。这样的测量非常具有挑战性，因为这些原子核很难生产出任何数量的核来进行实验。我们的方案使用了世界各地核物理的一些主要设施，在那里可以产生这种奇特的原子核。我们对原子核结构的进一步研究涉及到原子核的形状。原子核的一个显著特性是它可以采用不同的形状：球形、扁圆形(聪明的形状)和长方形(橄榄球形状)，通常只需很少的能量成本。从理论上讲，预测原子核的形状以及当原子核被激发(假设有更多的能量)时这种形状是如何演变的是非常具有挑战性的。从实验上确定原子核的形状有助于区分相互竞争的原子核模型，并确定我们的理论理解。我们研究的第三个线索是恒星中化学元素的起源，以及核物理在这个问题中所起的作用。有些元素和同位素只有在非常热和奇异的事件中才会产生，例如正在爆炸的恒星：新星和超新星。在这些事件中，会发生一系列快速的核反应。我们试图通过在实验室中复制这些反应来了解这些反应发生的速度有多快。这是非常具有挑战性的，因为这些研究中涉及的许多原子核本身就具有放射性，很难产生。然而，我们能够推进我们对化学元素是如何产生的理解。

The atomic nucleus was 'discovered' by Ernest Rutherford a hundred years ago. It comprises the tiny massive core at the centre of the atom. We now know that the nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons, and that these particles are themselves comprised of quarks, but this does not allow us to make a complete prediction of the behaviour of any given nucleus or isotope. The system is too complex, involving three of the four forces: the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces. The behaviour of the nucleus is often described as an emergent phenomenon as it cannot be readily predicted from its component parts. This drives theoretical effort and the need to benchmark theory with precision measurements. Our group addresses several fascinating aspects of the atomic nucleus: We study nuclei on the very limits of stability, in particular those with an excess of protons, and those which have the same number of protons and neutrons (N=Z nuclei). These nuclei exhibit special symmetries and deviations from these symmetries tell us very detailed information on the validity of competing nuclear models. Such measurements are very challenging as these nuclei are very difficult to produce in any quantity to perform experiments on. Our programme uses some of the principal facilities for nuclear physics worldwide where such exotic nuclei can be produced. A further aspect of our research into the structure of the nucleus concerns the shape of the nucleus. It is a remarkable property of the nucleus that it can adopt different shapes: spherical, oblate (smartie-shaped) and prolate (rugby-ball shaped) often for a small costs in energy. Predicting the shape of a nucleus and how this shape evolves as the nucleus is excited (given more energy) is extremely challenging from a theoretical perspective. Determining nuclear shape experimentally can help to discriminate between competing models of the nucleus and pin down our theoretical understanding. The third strand of our research is into the origin of the chemical elements in stars, and the role played by nuclear physics in this question. Some elements and isotopes are only produced in very hot and exotic events such as exploding stars: novae and supernovae. In these events, a rapid series of nuclear reactions takes place. We seek to understand how rapidly such reactions take place by reproducing them in the laboratory. This is very challenging as many of the nuclei involved in these studies are themselves radioactive and difficult to produce. Nevertheless, we are able to advance our understanding of how the chemical elements are created.