Determining the structure of light nuclei

The quest to understand the structure of nuclei from stable to the drip-lines and from light to heavy has driven the subject for the last several decades. Over that period nuclear theory has evolved considerably with the appearance of advanced theoretical approaches which attempt to grow the details of the strong interaction from first principles (meson exchange). Many of these approaches are limited to the domain of light nuclei and hence it is here that their overlap with experiment is maximal.

Light nuclei have been shown to display remarkable behaviour, e.g. clusterisation where the nucleons condense into alpha-particles inside the nucleus. The nucleus 8Be is known to correspond to a structure formed from 2 alpha-clusters. When a neutron is added to form 9Be, it is exchanged between the alpha-particles just as electrons in atomic molecules - see http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Clusters_in_nuclei for more information. Such structures are crucial to the formation of elements within the stars. The Birmingham group are recognised as world-leaders in this area.

This project will involve the experimental study of the structure of light nuclei in order to constrain state-of-the-art nuclear theory. Experiments are either performed on the Birmingham cyclotron, or at international facilities around the world.

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