Research

My research interests are related to nuclear and atomic physics with a focus on the study of basic properties of atomic nuclei very far away from the valley of stability. A major activity in my group is the determination of the mass of such rare isotopes, which is their most fundamental property. An accurate knowledge of atomic masses is important for revealing the inner structure of exotic nuclei and to provide crucial tests for nuclear model predictions. Atomic masses are one of the key information required for the description of the synthesis of the elements in the universe. An additional research interest is the development of new techniques related to the manipulation of low energy beams.

Shown are the gold-plated high-precision electrodes that provide the electric fields needed for capturing and storing rare isotope ions in the 9.4 T field of the LEBIT Penning trap mass spectrometer.

Biography

Growing up in Ramstein in Germany, I first attended the University of Kaiserslautern for undergraduate studies and completed my graduate studies at the Johannes-Gutenberg University in Mainz. My PhD work pioneered high precision mass measurements of radioactive isotopes using ion trapping techniques at the ISOLDE Facility at CERN. I worked for more than eight years at CERN, including four years as ISOLDE Physics group leader. I came to MSU as a full professor in 2000.

How students can contribute as part of my research team

Students of the LEBIT research team led by Dr. Ryan Ringle and me will be in the unique position to perform research at the interface of atomic and nuclear physics. Not relying only on the availability of radioactive beam, LEBIT provides year-round hands-on training and research opportunities including interesting technical developments aimed at reaching more exotic nuclei. Additional research opportunities are offered in the related area of beam physics at low energy.

Scientific publications

• Precision mass measurement of lightweight self-conjugate nucleus 80Zr, A. Hamaker, E. Leistenschneider, R. Jain, G. Bollen, S. A. Giuliani, K. Lund, W. Nazarewicz, L. Neufcourt, C. R. Nicoloff, D. Puentes, R. Ringle, C. S. Sumithrarachchi, I. T. Yandow. Nature Physics 17 (2021) 1408
• High Precision Determination of the β Decay QEC Value of C-11 and Implications on the Tests of the Standard Model, K. Gulyuz, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (2016) 012501
• High-Precision Mass Measurement of 56Cu and the Redirection of the rp-Process Flow. A. A. Valverde, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 (2018) 032701