SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES
(click on the title line of a specific subject to get more information; more recent activities can be found here.)
Production cross-section measurements
Experimental program to determine the isotopic production cross sections of
residual nuclei in relativistic nuclear collisions. These experiments are relevant for the
planning of new generation radioactive-beam facilities and for the design of
accelerator-driven subcritical nuclear reactors.
Nuclear-reaction studies of projectile
fragmentation
Research program to study specific aspects of relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
These experiments are relevant for the understanding of the mechanisms involved in
peripheral nuclear collisions.
Secondary-reaction studies
Experimental program to study specific features of nuclear reactions with radioactive
projectiles. Secondary reactions allow to study the N-over-Z degree of freedom.
Fission of exotic nuclei
Experimental program to determine the fission properties of exotic nuclei by use
of secondary beams. This is the beginning of a new generation of fission studies to
explore shell effects at large deformation.
Dissipation in nuclear fission
Experimental program to determine the viscosity of heated nuclear matter from
the characteristics of fission. Projectile fragments from peripheral heavy-ion
collisions are highly excited with small shape distortions and low angular momenta. These
are ideal conditions to study dissipative phenomena in nuclear fission.
Properties of highly
excited nuclei -- Isospin thermometer
The
study of the properties of nuclear matter with extreme N/Z ratio has come into
the focus of recent research activities due to its importance for the
understanding of supernova explosions and the stability of neutron stars. Experimental signatures of thermal instability of highly excited
nuclei are found in the isotopic distribution of heavy fragmentation products.
The limiting temperature has been determined by the isospin thermometer.
This instability might be related to the liquid-gas phase transition in nuclei.
Nuclear equation of state
The equation of state of nuclear matter, expressing its response to
temperature, density and pressure, belongs to the key topics of nuclear physics. Besides
nuclear-physics aspects it touches on important questions in astrophysics and
cosmology, e.g., the dynamics of supernova explosions, the stability of neutron
stars under gravitational pressure and the nature of matter that existed in the
early universe. Precise measurements of the longitudinal momentum distributions of projectile
residues are performed by our group, in order to extract information on the nuclear mean field far from
normal conditions.
Nuclear-reaction models
Improving and developing models to describe all stages of spallation reactions
and peripheral fragmentation reactions. The development of improved nuclear models goes in
line with the accumulation of new data. The most realistic modelling of fission is one of
the important subjects of our efforts.
Last modified: 11.09.09
