NSF Award
1613429
Atomic nuclei are made up of protons and neutrons. For the lighter elements the number of protons is very often equal to the number of neutrons in the nucleus. However, nuclei also exist in which there are extra neutrons, or neutron-rich nuclei, which are unstable and undergo nuclear decay. This project focuses on the study of these neutron-rich unstable nuclei and will investigate key questions in nuclear science related to the overall structure of nuclei: What are the fundamental properties of extremely neutron-rich matter and what is the limit of nuclear existence? The project will be carried out by Gettysburg College undergraduates and a faculty member with the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) Collaboration and Large area multi-Institutional Scintillation Array (LISA) at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). Gettysburg College students supported by this funding will learn significant new physics as they develop the tools necessary to be researchers in academia and industry. <br/><br/>Undergraduate students and their faculty are advancing the field in various ways, ranging from how beams of rare isotopes interact with matter to the exciting possibility of two-neutron radioactivity. Objectives include creating He-9 two different ways experimentally at the NSCL to not only shed light on conflicting prior results but also to better understand the "halo" nucleus He-10. Measuring the lifetime of O-26 could confirm a new mode of radioactivity. An analysis project focusing on the production mechanism for projectile fragmentation will impact the physics community's currently limited understanding of beam production mechanics at radioactive beam facilities. All proposed work will involve undergraduate researchers.
