The Photonuclear Group makes use of the world class High Intensity γ ray Source (HIγS) operated at the
Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory to address many different problems. Below is an
overview of the different problems being investigated by the group. To view more about
a topic, simply click on the link to find out more information.
In today's post-9/11 world, the US has an ongoing program to reduce the threat of
domestic nuclear terrorism. The Photonuclear Group actively participates in this program by
measuring nuclear data required to improve the effectiveness of new detection technologies.
48Ca is a medium mass nucleus which has the special property of being doubly magic,
the number of protons and neutrons completely fill their respective nuclear shells just as a electrons fill
the p level of a noble gas. It is the most neutron rich,
stable isotope of the Ca isotopic chain which begins with the doubly magic 40Ca. Because of this,
it is a very important nucleus to understanding nuclear fp shell. The Photonuclear Group measures photoabsorption
observables which help in the understanding of the complex level structures of medium to heavy nuclei.
There are no stable nuclei in the universe composed of 5 or 8 nucleons. The existence of nuclei with mass greater
than 8 in the present universe requires that these so called "mass gaps" were bridged over following the Big Bang.
The α(αn,γ)9Be and 8Be(n,γ) are vital to traversing this and the Photonuclear
Group seeks to study them via the inverse reaction 9Be(γ,n).
