Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

Francium, a radioactive element, is the heaviest alkali. Its atomic and nuclear structure makes it an ideal laboratory to study the weak interaction. Laser trapping and cooling in-line with the superconducting LINAC accelerator at Stony Brook opened the precision study of its atomic structure. I will present our proposal and progress towards weak interaction measurements at TRIUMF, the National Canadian Accelerator in Vancouver. These include hyperfine anomaly measurements and the nuclear anapole moment in a chain of francium isotopes through parity non-conserving transitions in the ground state hyperfine manifold. These measurements should shed light on the nucleonnucleon weak interaction. Supported by NSF and DOE from the USA; TRIUMF, NRC and NSERC from Canada; and CONACYT from Mexico.

The SPIRAL1 facility at GANIL-France, based on the ISOL (Isotope Separation On-Line) method, is operational and producing RIBs since 2001. These beams can be subsequently injected to a dedicated post-acceleration cyclotron for reaching energies between 1.7A and 25A MeV. Differently from the classical ISOL production scheme, SPIRAL1 allows using a variety of available combinations beam-target, due to the fact that the driver of SPIRAL1 (GANIL) is a Heavy Ion accelerator. This particularity allows SPIRAL1 to use the most resilient and efficient couple beam-target in most cases. After a brief overview of the project, this presentation will focus on the strategy, crucial decisions, schedule and risks taken during the realization of the RIB production system. This system involves a high temperature target and a compact ECR ion source for the production of multi-charged ion beams close-by the target. Being SPIRAL1 a French National facility, the reliability of the system, as well as safety and radio-protection issues are of paramount importance. All these aspects will be discussed during this presentation, mainly showing how R&D objects became reliable systems integrated in the facility. SPIRAL1 was built in 5 years.

Neutron stars are the astrophysical tool by which constraints on the nuclear dense matter Equation of State (dEOS) will be measured. Recent observations of neutron stars have offered strong constraints the dEOS. I will discuss the observational scenario which leads us to conclude that we can measure the radius of neutron stars using X-ray spectroscopy. I will describe the recent work at McGill which has recently produced a +/-15% measurement of the neutron star radius, which strongly excludes several proposed dEOSs. I will also describe, in some detail, the systematic uncertainties in this method, and how they can be addressed with superior observations. I will conclude by offering strong observational guidance to our nuclear physics colleagues who study the dEOS.

Ever since fission was discovered, it was recognized that the phenomenon can be considered as an evolution of the nuclear shape and ever more advanced transport treatments have been developed within this conceptual framework. While significant progress has been made with regard to the calculation of the shape dependence of the potential energy, the associated inertia and the dissipation are less well understood and, consequently, it has not been possible to obtain quantitatively useful results for even such basic quantities as the distribution of the fission fragment masses. The problem simplifies significantly if the dissipation is strong, because then the rate of shape change and the associated accelerations are small and the inertial forces play only a minor role. The shape evolution is then akin to Brownian motion, which can readily be simulated numerically, starting from the excited compound nucleus and stopping when the shape approaches scission and no further change of the mass asymmetry is likely to occur. The resulting fission-fragment mass distribution depends only weakly on the details of the dissipation tensor and particular simplicity emerges if this tensor is isotropic, because then the shape evolution reduces to a simple Metropolis walk on the potential-energy lattice. This simple treatment has yielded mass distributions that are in remarkably good agreement with the experimental data. Because the approach is essentially free of adjustable parameters, it can readily be applied to any nucleus for which suitable energy surfaces are available, thus offering unprecedented predictive power.

The antiproton magnetic moment is measured for the first time using a single trapped antiproton. The new measurement has an uncertainty that is 680 times smaller than previously obtained with other methods, and improvements of an additional factor of 1000 to 10,000 may eventually be possible. Many trapped anitprotons have been adiabaticially cooled by adiabatircally reducing the depth of the potential well that confines them. The interaction of cold positrons with a larger number of cold positrons produces cold antihydrogen. A few of these antimatter atoms per trial have been confined in the minimum of a magnetic field for long enough to ensure that they are trapped in their ground state., as needed for future laser cooling and precise laser spectroscopy.

The mechanism of nuclear fission has been used successfully for several decades in practical applications such as energy production. However, most of these applications rely on powerful semi-phenomenological models finely tuned to specific data, and the connections between these models and the underlying nuclear interactions within the atomic nucleus remain somewhat unclear. In many areas of basic nuclear science where fission plays a major role, such as, e.g., the stability of superheavy elements, or the formation of elements in nuclear capture processes (fission recycling), experimental data is scarce at best, very often unavailable. A predictive theory of fission, which would firmly root the dynamic of the fission process and the properties of the fission fragments into the theory of nuclear interactions, would, therefore, prove invaluable. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has started such a comprehensive program on nuclear fission theory a few years ago. The laboratory is also a key player in large global US efforts, such as the SciDAC 2 UNEDF and SciDAC 3 NUCLEI programs, which aim at achieving a better understanding of nuclear structure by combining our best knowledge of the nuclear force, high-performance computing and applied mathematics. Our framework to describe fission is the nuclear energy density functional theory (DFT) and large amplitude collective dynamics, and it is very dependent on the growing field of computational nuclear physics on leadership class computers. After a historical reminder, specific challenges and selected advances in the field will be reviewed. In particular, special attention will be put to the quantum mechanics of the scission point (when the nucleus finally splits in two) and the impact of high-performance computing in large-scale DFT calculations.

Determination of the limits of stability has been a focus of nuclear science for many years. An important experimental tool to study these exotic nuclei is the observation of their beta decay and associated radiations. The nuclear shell model is a central theoretical tool for the study of exotic nuclei, in particular establishing the validity of the predicted ‘closed shells’ far from stability. 100Sn is a long sought, doubly closed-shell isotope of tin that until recently has remained inaccessible to detailed study due to production limitations. Not only is 100Sn predicted to be the heaviest doubly-magic, N=Z nucleus that is stable against proton decay, but the strength of its beta decay will provide new information on its unique nuclear structure [1-2]. Early experiments [3-5] were only able to produce a few 100Sn nuclei during week-long experiments. The recent work of Hinke et al. [1] increased the number of observed 100Sn nuclei by more than a factor of ten. A total of 259 100Sn nuclei were detected, with a decay measurement of 126 of those nuclei. These improved statistics, resulted in a more precise half-life value of 1.16 ± 0.20s. For the first time, the beta-decay end-point energy was reported to be 3.29 ± 0.20 MeV, and gamma-ray transitions were observed from the de-excitation of the daughter nucleus, 100In. Finally, and maybe the most significant result, the log(ft) value was deduced to be 2.62 +0.13,-0.12. This small value of log(ft) classifies the Gamow-Teller beta decay of 100Sn (0+) to 100In (1+) as “superallowed”, which is a term usually reserved for Fermi (0+-0+) decays. The experimental details of searches for this isotope and the conclusions of the recent work will be discussed. References: 1. C. B. Hinke et al., Nature 486, 341 (2012) 2. B. A. Brown and K. Rykaczewski, Phys. Rev. C 50, R2270 (1994) 3. R. Schneider et al., Nuclear Phys. A 588, 191c (1995) 4. M. Lewitowicz et al., Phys. Letters B 332, 20 (1994) 5. D. Bazin et al., Phys. Rev. Letters 101, 252501 (2008)

Evidence-based medicine has its origins in the biological sciences. Over the last several decades, the physical sciences have begun to play a role, particularly in the areas of diagnostic imaging and radiation treatment. Recently, even applied sciences have become an integral part of the mix, hence the rise of biomedical engineering. The goal of most medical research centers is to transform laboratory research into clinical applications. Such translational research is now the main focus of research oriented cancer centers and represents the currently best known path for maximizing the impact of research on clinical practice. As scientific research strives to have tangible societal benefit, the roles of translational research and commercialization have become increasingly intertwined and important over time. In this presentation I will describe my own experiences in this area by discussing a breast cancer detection project that evolved from the back of an envelope to a clinical/commercial product. I will discuss the translational research trajectory of the project, including the funding challenges that stood in the way. The importance of multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research will be stressed, including the roles played by multiple branches of physics and mathematics in defining ultrasound tomography, the imaging method by which breast cancer can be detected without radiation or even sensor contact. Finally, I will detail the important step of technology transfer in our journey. The role of intellectual property protection, formation of a start-up company and investment from the private equity community will round out the discussion.

Spectroscopic studies of inter-shell (K-L) resonant electronic recombination processes for He-like to O-like Si ions (Si12+ to Si6+) are presented and compared to theoretical predictions obtained from MCDF and FAC calculations. These measurements were performed at the new cryogenic electron beam ion trap of the MPIK. The charge state evolution and charge-breeding process in this machine was further studied using the time resolved evolution of the resonant recombination spectra. Strong contributions of higher-order recombination processes (trielectronic recombination, TR) are compared to lines resulting from first order dielectronic recombination (DR) using the strength ratio. For C-like Si, the measured strength ratio 1.2 +- 0.1 is about half the theoretical value. This deviation can be explained by barely resolvable contributions from long-lived metastable states in the recombining C-like ions.

A lot of information can be gained from stellar spectra e.g. the stellar ages, velocities, evolutionary stage, abundances, as well as the composition of the environment they were born in. High quality spectra allow us to derive stellar abundances of about 2/3 of the elements in the periodic table. By comparing abundances of elements belonging to different groups in the periodic table, we can gain information about long gone supernovae - maybe even the first ones? These supernovae enriched the gas we observe today in later generations of stars. To date we still do not fully understand how the heavy elements (Z > 37) are formed. Two main production channels are known to create the majority of the heavy elements through neutron captures, namely the rapid neutron capture (r-)process and the slow neutron-capture (s-)process. Recently we have seen that each of these production channels seem to branch into two, a main and a weak process. The nature of weak s-process is fairly well known, while the weak r-process remains a puzzle. Silver and palladium, as well as other elements in the range 40 Z 50, are thought to form via the weak r-process. Hence, Pd and Ag may carry key information on this process. By studying elements (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, Eu) with well known formation processes, we can compare their abundances to those of Ag and Pd, and thereby learn about the differences/similarities of various formation processes. Here, I will outline the procedure astronomers go through to derive the stellar abundances, the approximations, and problems we face when doing so.

Neutrinos are important in driving the expansion of the universe shortly after the big bang and play dynamic roles in supernovae. They also determine the conditions for nucleosynthesis in these two environments. Consequently, big bang and supernova nucleosynthesis is a sensitive probe of the fundamental properties of neutrinos, such as the number of neutrino flavors and the parameters of neutrino oscillations. This talk focuses on the supernova nucleosynthesis probe in view of the recent major advances in experimental studies of neutrino oscillations and in astrophysical observations of elemental abundances. The strong interplay among nuclear, particle physics and astrophysics is emphasized.

Near-ir spectroscopy of red giants addresses several perplexing problems of globular clusters. The discovery of fast winds from these stars can explain the missing intracluster material. These winds may account for observations of slowly rotating red horizontal branch stars. And the presence of absorption by neutral helium offers insight into the second generation of stars and the conjectured helium enhancement in many globular clusters.

The Argonne National Laboratory Physics Division is in the final stages of a major upgrade to the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS) national user facility, referred to as the intensity upgrade. The intensity upgrade project will substantially increase beam currents for experimenters working with the existing ATLAS stable and in-flight rare isotope beams and for the neutron-rich beams from the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade. This project includes the replacement of three existing cryomodules, containing 18 superconducting (SC) accelerator cavities and 9 SC solenoids, with a single cryomodule with seven SC 72.75 MHz accelerator cavities optimized for ion velocities of 7.7% the speed of light and 4 SC solenoids all operating at 4.5 K. This presentation will start with a review of our cryomodule design and implementation status for the intensity upgrade and conclude with a review of our in-progress future designs. These future designs are being pursued for other low-velocity accelerator applications, e.g., FNAL Project-X (2 K) and the Soreq-NRC SARAF (4 K) projects. Topics will include: how we minimized the heat load into the 4 K and 80 K coolant streams feeding the cryomodule, a comparison of the calculated and measured static heat loads, the mechanical design of the vacuum vessel including thermal and magnetic shields, and the structural supports used to align the superconducting cavities and solenoids at 4.5 K to ±0.25 mm transversely.

Advances in the understanding of complex phenomena depend on new well-diagnosed experiments. These cutting-edge experiments require state-of-the-art modeling capabilities. X-ray spectroscopy and imaging have been widely used in the plasma physics community as powerful diagnostics tools. Spectroscopy is a classic example of a non-interfering probe. Fundamental information on plasma conditions can be obtained by analyzing line emission or absorption spectra. Detailed modeling of spectral formation can provide information on the ionization balance, charge state distributions, temperatures, and densities. Over the years, Prism Computational Sciences, Inc. has developed a variety of modeling capabilities to study radiative properties of matter. I will briefly describe those models and their applications to a wide range of experiments: laboratory astrophysics, thermonuclear fusion, short-pulse laser plasmas. I would also like to discuss an opportunity for collaboration with the nuclear physics community: interdisciplinary projects can be very successful. Possibilities may include planning experiments for diagnostics of charge state evolution, spectroscopy of highly-charged ions, identification of reaction products, studying the importance of various atomic processes: excitation, ionization, electron capture, etc.

The CLASH project was selected as one of 3 major multi-year observing projects by the Hubble Space Telescope allocation committee. Now entering the final year of observations, we have collected an unprecedented set of visible, infrared, and ultraviolet high-resolution imagery of 25 massive clusters of galaxies. Clusters are not only the most massive self-gravitating systems in the universe (up to one quadrillion times the mass of the sun) but can be "weighed" with multiple and independent methods. We combine these methods to figure out how much, where, and what kind of matter exists in clusters (stars, intergalactic gas, and weakly interacting dark matter.) Gravitational lensing by these massive clusters also provides HST a boosted view of the universe as it was only a billion years after the Big Bang. I will discuss the project's aims and results so far, including the testing the predictions of current cosmological models including dark matter and dark energy, and the discovery of two of the most distant galaxies ever seen to date.

The DRAGON recoil separator is located at the ISAC facility at TRIUMF, Vancouver. It is designed to measure radiative alpha and proton capture reactions of astrophysical importance. Over the last years, the DRAGON collaboration has measured several reactions using both radioactive and high-intensity stable beams. For example, the production and destruction of 18F in novae was studied by measuring the 17O(p,g) and 18F(p,g) cross sections at astrophysically relevant energies. Both reactions strongly influence the abundance of 18F in classical novae, which - due to its relatively long lifetime - is a possible target for satellite-based gamma-ray spectroscopy. In addition, the 16O(a,g) and 17O(a,g) reactions will be discussed, which are relevant in steady-state helium burning and the astrophysical s-process, respectively.

I will describe our experience of more than a decade on the development of instrumentation, methods and techniques with charged-particle auxiliary detectors used for in-flight spectroscopy of exotic nuclei. With recent examples I will make emphasis on Coulomb excitation and single-nucleon transfer, two powerful techniques for the study of structure at low energies using neutron-rich RIBS, especially near closed shells (e.g. 78Ni, 132Sn). Finally, I will describe prospects for future arrays based on newer technologies such as Silicon Photomultipliers.

Most proteins reliably fold into specific "native" three-dimensional structures which are required to perform their function properly. When the folding process goes awry, however, non-native structures can result that lead to disease, with examples ranging from Alzheimer's to scurvy. My lab is studying the mechanisms driving such misfolding in two disease-related proteins, PrP (prion disease) and alpha-synuclein (Parkinson's). We use high-resolution optical tweezers to observe the conformational dynamics and structural properties of individual proteins as they either fold natively or misfold and aggregate. In the case of PrP, we have measured the conformational free-energy landscape for native folding of the protein, using it to determine the timescale for microscopic motion of the protein during the folding transition. We also found three distinct pathways leading to misfolding. In the case of alpha-synuclein, which is intrinsically disordered (in contrast to the well-defined structure of PrP), we observed transient structures formed by individual molecules. We have compared these to the structures formed by small oligomers of alpha-synuclein, finding that many different structures can form in the oligomers, the aggregation rate is size-dependent, and the aggregates grow in stability with size.

Despite concerted effort, the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae have not been definitively identified. For decades, we have assumed that the "single degenerate" progenitor channel offers the most plausible explanation. However, evidence is mounting that this standard, textbook progenitor channel cannot be responsible for the bulk of Type Ia supernovae. I will outline the current status of the two alternative progenitor channels and highlight our recent work on the double detonation scenario. While relatively less studied, this progenitor channel is extremely promising and may pave the way for an understanding of how these cosmic standardizable candles are born.

The focus of this talk will be on high-spin spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei with 94<Z<98, accessed via inelastic and transfer reactions, using heavy stable beams on radioactive targets. These complement spectroscopic investigations of elements with 100<Z<104 using fusion-evaporation reactions. The physics of the highest neutron orbitals at and beyond N=150 will be discussed. Valence orbitals here can originate from above the spherical shell gaps that are believed to be responsible for the stability of super-heavy elements. Thus, a precise mapping of single particle states in this deformed region can provide guidance and constraints for theories that attempt to predict the next higher spherical magic numbers.

The cross sections of reactions in stellar nucleosynthesis are substantially determined by the properties of the exotic nuclei. The (d,p) reactions are perfect tool to study nature of single particle states from which structure information of the exotic nucleus can be obtained. In order to get reliable and accurate information, it is important that the uncertainties and limitations of the available reaction theories are better understood and quantified. Efforts in this direction and resulting conclusions will be presented in the talk.

Collinear laser spectroscopy was performed on stable ⁵⁵Mn and ⁵⁶Fe atoms at the BEam COoler and LAser Spectroscopy (BECOLA) facility at NSCL [1]. The experiments serve as the groundwork for the planned study on the nuclear electromagnetic moments and charge radii of beta unstable isotopes via laser probing methods, where sparse data exists for light transition metals (Z = 21 to 29) [2]. The in-flight production and subsequent beam thermalization and extraction at NSCL [3] provides access to low-energy beams ( 60 keV/q) of these elements. In contrast, the same elements are extremely difficult to extract from thick ISOL-like targets, due to their low vapor pressures. The main science motivation for measuring the ground-state properties of nuclei with Z = 20 to 30 is to understand, in a microscopic basis, the onset of deformation around and across N = 28 and 40 for the neutron-rich transition metals [4]. A systematic study of the electromagnetic moments and charge radii of these isotopes may help elucidate the rich nuclear structure in this region. Such studies via collinear laser spectroscopy require the offline development of stable beams as a reference for online measurements. For this purpose, Mn⁺ and Fe⁺ beams were separately produced using two ion sources: a commercial plasma ion source with a metallic charge, and a home-built electron ionization ion source using a highly volatile metallocene charge. The produced ions were accelerated to 15 keV and co-propagated with single-mode, continuous-wave laser light. The ion beams were then neutralized via charge-exchange reactions with a Na vapor [5]. Multiple atomic levels of the outgoing atomic beam were populated in the charge-exchange reactions. One optical transition was investigated for neutral ⁵⁶Fe (I^p = 0⁺), and two transitions were separately investigated for neutral ⁵⁵Mn (I^p = 5/2^-). Hyperfine structures were determined by measuring laser-induced fluorescence from the atoms as a function of effective laser frequency. The hyperfine spectra for Mn I were analyzed by simultaneously fitting all observed peaks for each transition. The A and B hyperfine coupling constants were deduced from the fits, and are consistent with known values.

References:

1. K. Minamisono, et al. Nuclear Instru. Methods A. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2013.01.038.
2. K. Blaum et al., Phys. Scripta T152 (2013) 014017.
3. L. Weissman et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A. 540 (2005) 245.
4. S. M. Lenzi et al., Phys. Rev. C 82 (2010) 054301.
5. A. Klose et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 678 (2012) 114.

Monte Carlo methods often used in nuclear physics, such as auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo, have typically relied on phenomenological local real-space potentials containing as few derivatives as possible, such as the Argonne-Urbana family of interactions, to make sampling simple and efficient. Basis set methods such as no-core shell model or coupled-cluster techniques typically use softer non-local potentials because of their more rapid convergence with basis set size. These non-local potentials are typically defined in momentum space and are often based on effective field theory. Comparisons of the results of the two types of methods are complicated by the use of different potentials. I will discuss progress we have made in using such non-local potentials in quantum Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei. In particular, I will show methods for evaluating the real-space, imaginary-time propagators needed to perform quantum Monte Carlo calculations using such non-local potentials, how to formulate a good trial wave function for such potentials, and how to perform a “one-step” Green's function Monte Carlo calculation for such potentials.

Neutron stars are unique laboratories for understanding the physics of dense matter, including the properties of nuclei far from stability, super fluidity, and thermal and compositional properties. These properties in turn play an important role in the astrophysics of neutron stars, for example their spin and magnetic field evolution. In this talk I will discuss how the large number of different observations of neutron stars that are now available provide new insights into neutron star interior physics. I will focus on what can be learned from the transient behavior of accreting neutron stars and magnetars.

The electromagnetic, neutrino and gravitational wave radiations emitted by compact stars such as a White Dwarf (WD) or a neutron star (NS) depends on the unique properties of the dense matter found in the core and crust of these stars. However, since this matter is not accessible to laboratory experiments because of its great density, from millions of times normal densities in WD to trillions of times normal densities in NS, it has to be studied via computer simulation and astronomical observations. In this work we describe how molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of dense matter can be used to determine some of the properties of matter found in WD and NS. We start describing a MD method to obtain the liquid-solid phase diagram of carbon-oxygen mixtures found in WD stars and how it can be used to place limits on the reaction rate 12C(α, γ)O16 at solar densities/temperatures. We then show how the MD formalism can be used to study matter at even higher densities, such as the ones found in neutron stars and supernovae. We focus on the large-scale shape oscillations associated with formation of exotic nuclear pasta phases found in the crust-core boundary in NS and on the structure factor of different pasta configurations, which are relevant for neutrino opacities in supernovae.

Organic scintillation detectors are capable of detecting both gamma-rays and fast neutrons, therefore, they can be helpful in characterization and identification of special nuclear material. Simulations of nuclear nonproliferation and safeguards measurements done with scintillation detectors require detailed modeling of various physical phenomena. Scintillation detectors convert energy-deposited into light-emitted. These detectors are also coupled with photo-multiplier tubes to convert the scintillation light-emitted into charge that can be recorded by instrumentation. The Monte Carlo Code MCNPX-PoliMi and its associated post-processor simulate and record not only detailed event-by-event collision information within the detector, but also carefully model the nonlinear processes of energy-to light conversion based on the nuclei of collision, energy-deposited, et cetera. Presently, it is important to run MCNPX-PoliMi in the analog mode in order to capture the detailed physics which prevents the user from utilizing existing MCNP variance reduction techniques. Thus, complex yet typical nonproliferation scenarios that comprise of thick shielding or large source detector distances require long simulation run-times. To mitigate this user-expense, a method is formulated which allows post-processing of non-analog MCNPX-PoliMi simulations and lets the user implement standard MCNP variance reduction techniques. Even time-dependent simulations of measurement using organic scintillation detectors can have significantly reduced computation-times with non-analog MCNPX-PoliMi. In this work, time-dependent cross-correlation EJ-309 liquid scintillation detector response using analog and non-analog MCNPX-PoliMi is simulated. Good agreement between non-analog and analog MCNPX-PoliMi simulations for bare 252Cf source and shielded cases are shown.

In the first part of my talk, I will present preliminary results from an experiment recently performed at TRIUMF, where we used the doppler-shift attenuation method to determine the lifetime of a resonance in 23Mg that is known to dominate the 22Na(p,gamma) rate during explosive hydrogen burning in novae. I will discuss the challenges of the experiment and explain why it is important to reduce the uncertainty on the 22Na(p,gamma) rate. In the second part of my talk, I will switch to a completely different topic. I will present new experimental data on the three-alpha breakup of the Hoyle state in 12C, which allow us to put stringent limits on possible non-sequential breakup channels, and discuss the implications for the triple-alpha reaction rate, both in the s-wave resonance regime ('standard' helium burning) and in the non-resonant regime (low-temperature helium burning).

The weak charge of the proton Qpw is a basic property, which determines the proton's response to the weak interaction. The Standard Model predicts the proton's weak charge, based on the running of the weak mixing angle, sin2qw from the Z0 pole to low energies. To challenge those predictions and search for new physics the JLab Qweak experiment has precisely measured the parity violating asymmetry in ep elastic scattering, which is proportional to the proton's weak charge, Qpw = 1 − 4 sin2 qw, at very low Q2 and forward angles. The predicted change in sin2qw corresponds to a 10 s effect in the experiment, thus testing the internal consistency of the Standard Model more rigorously than complementary experiments on the weak charge of Cesium (APV) and the electron Qew. This is the first precision measurement of Qpw, with a combined statistical systematic uncertainty expected to be ~4%, which will lead to a 0.3% measurement of sin2qw. The experiment completed its last data taking campaign in May 2012. The results from the commissioning run will be presented.

Intermediate energy (100 MeV/A ~ 2 GeV/A) heavy ion collisions have been a powerful tool to extract information on bulk properties of nuclear matter. We find that net pion yields in central collisions are strongly sensitive to the momentum dependence of isoscalar nuclear mean field. We have re-examined the momentum dependence assumed in the Boltzmann equation model for the collisions and found new parameterization to describe FOPI pion yield measurements in the Au + Au collisions at different beam energies. We also check the new mean field with baryonic elliptic flow measurements. On the other hand, ratios of charged pions from central collisions are believed to provide information about symmetry energy at supranormal densities. While our results differ in detail from some in the literature, we have optimized the observables exploiting differences between the charged pions, to provide the best guidance on the symmetry energy at supranormal densities, in central collision experiments.

The exploration of the immunomodulating potential of nanoparticles (NPs), has only recently been a major focus of research into the health effects of nanomaterials. Therefore, only little data are available on the mechanisms involved in such effects. An in-depth evaluation of such effects with both accidental exposure (e.g., environmental and occupational) and therapeutic exposure (vaccinations, drug delivery tools) is required. Questions such as how nanomaterials (NPs) can interact with the immune system and which effects are expected in both the short and long term remain unanswered. In this seminar the focus is on modulation of the immune response after exposure to biopersistent nanomaterials, with emphasis on key factors that participate in the final outcome of the immune response. The modulation of immune-sensitive respiratory disorders, such as asthma, by NPs will be discussed. Immune system components and their specific modulation by NPs The primary function of the immune system is to prevent or protect against foreign material, mostly micro-organisms, but also dust and particles, entering and/or affecting the organism. In the defense against foreign intruders, several lines of protection, both specific and nonspecific, are integrated. The lines of defense are divided into the innate and adaptive immune response. Innate (non-specific) immunity refers to the basic disease resistance the organism possesses and comprises 4 different protective barriers: 1) anatomic or physical, blocking the material from entering the organism (skin/surface of mucous membranes); 2) physiologic, increasing blood flow, degradation of material and activation of the immune system (by temperature, pH, oxygen tension or soluble factors such as lysozyme, interferon [IFN], and complement); 3) endocytic and/or phagocytic, active uptake of the material by specialized cells; and 4) inflammatory, recruitment of different cells (mainly macrophages and neutrophils). The phagocytes also form the connection between innate and acquired (adaptive) immunity by, for example, presenting specific antigens to specialized cells or by secreting chemotactic peptides that recruit lymphocytes. The main feature of the adaptive immune system is its specific, inducible response. Phagocytic cells are general-purpose effector cells capable of handling a wide variety of stressors, whereas lymphocytes (acquired immunity) are specific to a single stressor. Both systems (innate and acquired) strongly interact, and drawing a line between the two is often impossible. At first contact, cells of the immune system interact with the foreign materials, through direct interaction or with the help of antigen-presenting cells. This process is accompanied by the production of different cytokines, which act as inflammatory and/or immunological mediators. These cytokines or chemokines can shape the immune response toward a pro-inflammatory or an anti-inflammatory outcome.

Superconductors will play an important role in tomorrow’s power systems by enabling the development of more efficient and more compact electrical systems. The unique properties of superconductors allow for current to flow with no resistive losses, however, different types of losses need to be considered in variable regimes and in some cases, thermal runaways (quench) can occur. Quench in superconductors is an electro-thermal instability induced when a local energy input exceeds a certain threshold. It can be created from a multitude of causes including defects in the material, lower critical current or external energy input. A typical local quench starts as a hot spot, creating a local resistive transition of the superconductor forcing the transport current to migrate to the resistive part of the wire; the normal zone propagates along the winding. This phenomenon, very common in low temperature superconductors because the minimum quench energy is very low, is addressed by an active detection system monitoring voltages at different locations. Unfortunately, High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) exhibit very low normal zone propagation velocities (NZPV) making quench detection challenging using conventional voltage-based detection systems. A reliable and quench detection system is critical to the development of power applications of high temperature superconductivity and therefore quench propagation analysis needs to be part of any superconducting magnet design. The peak temperature during a quench strongly depends upon the magnet topology, type of superconductor, current discharge time constant, type of cooling system and operating temperature. The presentation deals with the simulation of quench propagation using finite element analysis for both LTS and HTS epoxy impregnated coils. The more challenging modeling of YBCO winding is presented at two different scales: at the coil level and at the tape conductors level with an accurate geometry representation. The differences in quench behavior between the LTS and HTS magnets are discussed.

RIBF(RI beam factory) at RIKEN started its operation as a new-generation rare isotope beam facility in 2007. Since then it has provided a wide variety of experimental opportunities to explore the nuclei far from the stability. In this facility, heavy ions up to 238U can be accelerated at 345 MeV/nucleon with high intensity. For instance, intensity over 200 pnA for 48Ca beam has reached in 2012. In this seminar, I primarily present the results of the Coulomb and nuclear breakup experiments on very neutron rich nuclei from C to Si isotopes, using the high intense RI beams produced from the 48Ca beam. Coulomb breakup, which is dominated in the reaction with a high-Z target such as Pb, is sensitive to the neutron halo state because of the large electric dipole strength at low excitation energies, called soft E1 excitation. On the other hand, nuclear breakup, which is primarily induced in a reaction with a light target such as C, is a tool to probe a single particle state of a removed nucleon. I first show the inclusive Coulomb and nuclear breakup results, where 1) the change of the shell structure in the neutron rich nuclei near N=20 and N=28, and 2) the halo states in 22C, 31Ne, and 37Mg are found. I also demonstrate that the combined analysis of using these two breakup reactions is useful. In the second part, I will show the kinematically complete measurement of 19B, 22C Coulomb breakup, and some other breakup reactions performed at the SAMURAI facility, which is equipped with 3T large acceptance superconducting magnet and the large acceptance neutron detector array NEBULA. This facility has just commisioned in March, 2012. Finally I will show some future perspectives about breakup reactions and possible applications at the new-genaration RI beam facility. [1] T.Nakamura et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 262501 (2009). [2] N.Kobayashi, T.Nakamura et al., Phys. Rev. C 86, 054604 (2012). [3] T.Nakamura, Y. Kondo, p67-p119, Clusters in Nuclei Vol. 2 (Lecture Notes in Physics Vol. 848) ed C.Beck (Berlin: Springer) (2012).

The SAMURAI facility, which is equipped with the 3T superconducting magnet with the 80 cm gap, charged particle detectors, and the large-acceptance neutron detector array (NEBULA), offers rich opportunities for exploring the exotic structures of unstable nuclei. For instance, the invariant spectroscopy of nuclei near or beyond the neutron dripline is one of the main subjects. Some of the technical details of the facility, and commissioning experiments using the proton and some neutron rich nuclei from 18O are shown and discussed.

The simulations of nuclear production in stars and stellar explosions has made significant progress over the past few years. I will report on new developments in reveal areas. The NuGrid collaboration has integrated simulation techniques for a wide range of nuclear production sites into a uniform simulation framework. We are just finishing the first internally consistent yield data set for both low- and massive stars for solar and very-low metal content, including predictions of all species from both quiescent stellar evolution as well as supernova explosions. We have also applied the NuGrid tools to generate a Nova simulation framework, and simplified simulation tools for nuclear reaction rate impact tests are available for the interested nuclear astrophysics experimental community. The NuGrid collaboration has also enabled the investigation of nuclear reaction rate impact studies for many other astrophysics questions, for example the impact of the C12+C12 reaction on SN type Ia progenitor evolution. Finally, I will demonstrate how our improving, quantitative understanding of stellar hydrodynamics in nuclear production environments in the late phases of stellar evolution play an essential role for realistic nuclear astrophysics scenarios.

Photonuclear physics is dominated by a giant resonance phenomena occurring in the photon energy range of ~10 to ~30 MeV. To excite these resonances electron LINACs can be used as bremsstrahlung photon generators. Interactions of these photons with target material cause nuclear transmutations, which results in numerous applications. One such application is radioisotope production. This talk will bring up the benefits of photonuclear production of radioisotopes in comparison with currently used reactor-based methods. As an example, photonuclear production of 67Cu, one of the most promising beta-emitting isotopes for radioimmunotherapy, will be reviewed. Another application of photonuclear transmutation is photon activation analysis (PAA), which is a non-destructive, highly sensitive analytical technique. PAA allows one to measure trace amounts of impurities in geological, archaeological, environmental and other types of samples. Computer simulations and experimental results for both applications obtained at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC) will be presented.

Electron spin is a fundamental property of Nature. Although many of the more common physical observables linked to spin are well documented (e.g. magnetism, spin-allowed v. spinforbidden optical transitions), the degree to which spin and spin polarization permeates the chemistry of molecular systems is not as clear. This notion, namely the effect of spin and spin polarization on the physical and chemical properties of molecules, constitutes the conceptual underpinning of our research effort. Specifically, we are pursuing the design and development of chemical systems that will allow us to determine whether there exists a cause-and-effect relationship between the physical and/or photophysical properties of molecules and their innate spin properties, and if so, to what extent we can exploit this connection in order to manipulate the chemical reactivity of molecular systems. Several projects ongoing in the group specific to our interest in energy and electron transfer processes will be described, including proof-of principle results for manipulating dipolar (i.e., Förster) energy transfer in a covalently-linked donor-acceptor assembly, 1 as well as efforts currently underway to extend these concepts to molecular wires where zero-field spin polarization could be used to control electron flow. 1 Guo, D.; Knight, T.E.; McCusker, J.K. Science 2011, 334, 1684.

The nucleus 6He is one of the lightest nuclei with a large endopoint and for which ab-initio nuclear-structure calculations can be performed. It gives a good opportunity to understand some long-standing problems. For example, we have recently made an accurate determination of the halflife and extracted a value of gA in agreement with that from neutron beta decay. The renormalization of gA is at most a few percent for this nucleus. We will present data. We are starting an experiment to search for "tensor currents". These could contribute to the decay, according to models of physics beyond the Standard Model. Tensor currents have helicity properties that differ from the currents of the Standard Model. Measuring the correlation between the electron and the neutrino and the electron-energy spectrum can reveal them. Laser trapping provides with a way of holding the atoms with minimum interference for the determination of the decay-particles kinematics. The present status of this experiment will be described.

Abstract #1 As new light sources with modern insertion devices and ultra-low emittance turn on around the globe, the number of novel SR experiments that can be done using a first-generation source driving bending magnets and wigglers is diminishing rapidly. The current fiscal climate has delayed full project approval for Cornell’s Energy Recovery Linac, a 4th-generation light source with unparalleled brilliance and flexibility. To remain competitive in the interim, CHESS must upgrade to 3rd-generation light source performance. A comprehensive plan is described. Several variants of a new Cornell-designed tunable undulator and novel optical devices are also described. Challenges and ramifications are discussed from an engineering perspective. Abstract #2 Pressure levels approaching ring vacuum are necessary in large enclosures having large access ports on SR beam lines. Seals for such enclosures are typically complex, expensive, and often require special skill in installation. A method is herein described where an ordinary aluminum wire and an ordinary flat-surfaced enclosure lid are fixtured with simple, removable jigging. The enclosure lid is then bolted on in a manner that causes a progressive deformation of the sealing wire. The method and fixturing result in reliable leak-free sealing of large enclosures, as performed by personnel with ordinary levels of mechanical skill. The method may be adaptable to existing enclosures, depending on the existing seal geometry. Design features enhancing the utility of such wire-seal joints are discussed.

For more than a century, emergent states of quantum matter such as superconductors, superfluids and supergasses have played a central role in condensed matter and macroscopic quantum physics. We will begin with a review of the history of these discoveries and also some of the their profound impacts on other fields such as elementary particles, astrophysics and cosmology. Today, high-Tc superconductivity (HTS) is once again at the epicentre of quantum matter research. This is because of the extraordinary discovery of iron-based HTS in 2008. While only copper-based HTS was known, the hypothesis that the single-orbital strong correlations of its Mott-insulator state contain the key to the superconductivity was persuasive. However, the iron-based superconductors are dominated by multi-orbital Hund’s rule magnetism and are without correlated insulator phases. This unexpected contrast has renewed focus on identifying the true essence of HTS. Here I will outline our efforts, by direct visualization of electronic structure at the atomic scale, to compare and contrast the phenomenology of the copper-based and iron-based superconductors. We study the electronic structure of the ‘parent’ phases (Science 327, 181 (2010)); Science 333, 426 (2011)), the atomic-scale effects of the substitutional doping processes (Nature Physics 8, 534 (2012); arXiv:1211.8454 (2013)), and the distinct but similarly unconventional forms of superconductivity (Nature 454, 1072 (2008); Science 336, 563 (2012)) in search of a universal explanation for high-Tc superconductivity. Finally, I hope to survey some of the impending challenges in emergent electronic matter research, touching on systems including Heavy Fermions, Quantum Critical Matter, Quantum Spin Liquids, Magnetic Monopole Liquids, Electronic Liquid Crystals and Topological Superfluids & Superconductors.

Abstract 1 - R Coronae Borealis stars are objects that have been observed to have very peculiar nucleosynthetic signatures. However, the physics leading to the observations is still uncertain. I will discuss the possible astrophysical models and a couple of nuclear reactions that may explain some of the interesting properties of these stars. Abstract 2 - We re-examine the scenario of detonations in helium layers, accreted on carbon-oxygen (CO) cores. Assuming that the outburst occurs on a carbon WD that accretes helium, carbon enrichment can take place if there is dredge up mixing at the bottom of the envelope prior to the ignition of the detonation. Preliminary 1D models show that the helium envelope is indeed unstable to convection about a day before the runaway. We intend to examine this interesting possibility for the mixing process by performing 1D and 2D simulations of the pre runaway evolution. Abstract 3 - Simulations of galactic chemical evolution have the potential to constrain the scales of star formation events and galactic gas accretion/loss events, potentially helping to distinguish between the different mechanisms hypothesized to be involved. I will discuss a statistical approach to determining such constraints using chemical evolution simulations as well as some preliminary results of the method when applied to Sculptor.

For roughly a quarter of a century, Fermilab's Tevatron was the most energetic particle collider in the world. With the successful startup of the LHC, the lab has refocused its planning and effort on a program based on high intensity proton beams, which will be complementary to the energy frontier research at the LHC. This talk will outline the physics motivation for this program, the modifications to the existing accelerator complex to maximize the intensity in the near term, and longer term plans for "Project X" - a proposed new, dedicated high intensity proton source.

Electric dipole moment (EDM) measurements may help to answer the question "Why is there more matter than anti-matter in the present universe?" For a charged baryon like the proton such a measurement is thinkable only in a storage ring in which a bunch of protons is stored for more than a few minutes, with polarization "frozen"(relative to the beam velocity) and with polarization not attenuated by decoherence. After describing the salient issues for the experiment, the lecture will discuss novel polarimetry methods that are expected to make the experiment practical.

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, launched on June 13, 2012, and is the first telescope to focus high energy X-ray light above 10 keV. Compared to the previous generation of non-focusing observatories working in this energy band, this change in technology provides NuSTAR with 10x sharper images and 100x improved sensitivity. NuSTAR is providing / will provide a unique probe of the most energetic phenomena in the universe, from flares on the surface of the Sun, to the explosions of stars, to the extreme environments around neutron stars and black holes. I will present some of the highlights from the nine months of NuSTAR observations and describe how they are changing our picture of the extreme universe.

The main creation site of 26Al is currently under debate. Recently, Wolf-Rayet stars have been suggested as the main source of 26Al, but contributions from AGB stars, classical novae and core collapse supernovae are also expected. As well as the site, the reactions for its creation or destruction are not completely known. When 26Al is created in novae, the reaction chain is: 24Mg(p,γ)25Al(β+v)25Mg(p,γ)26Al, but this chain can be by-passed by another chain: 25Al(p,γ)26Si(p,γ)27P and it can also be destroyed directly. Another way to by-pass it is through 26mAl(p,γ)27Si* which is dominated by resonant capture. We find and study these resonances by an indirect method, through the β-decay of 27P. A clean and abundant source of 27P was, for the first time, produced and separated with the Momentum Achromat Recoil Spectrometer (MARS) at the Texas A & M Cyclotron Institute. Gamma-rays and β-delayed protons emitted from states above the proton threshold in the daughter nucleus 27Si were measured in order to identify and characterize the resonances. This experiment involved the search for very low energy protons, typically below 200 keV. In silicon detectors, this region is usually dominated by the betabackground. This led to the design of a detector that was less sensitive to the betas but still maintained good energy resolution (10-15 keV FWHM at 200 keV) and the efficiency of the original silicon setup for protons. To meet these requirements, a GEM technique was employed, specifically, a Micro Pattern Gas Amplifier Detector (MPGAD) was used with P10 gas, dubbed the AstroBox. After a series of short test runs, it was found that the beta-background was reduced to around 100 keV and the resolution was approximately 10 keV at 200 keV.

While 68Ni (Z = 28 and N = 40) exhibits properties of a doubly-closed shell nucleus [1], recent experiments point to enhanced collectivity in the Fe and Cr isotopes along N = 40 (see e.g. [2]). A possible reason for this enhanced collectivity is the reduction of the N=40 gap and the possible occupancy of the g9/2 and d5/2-s1/2 orbitals just above the N=40 respectively N=50 gap. In order to investigate the neutron single-particle orbitals around N=40 and to further characterize the excited states in 68Ni, one- and two neutron transfer reaction studies were performed at ISOLDE-CERN. Beams of 66Ni (T1/2 = 54.6 h) were post-accelerated to 3 MeV/u to study the 66Ni(d,p)67Ni and 66Ni(t,p)68Ni reactions in inverse kinematics. A highly segmented silicon detector array for proton detection combined with an efficient germanium detector array for gamma detection [3,4] were used to single-out and characterize ground and excited states. Negative (fp) and positive (gds) parity states were identified in 67Ni (Z=28, N=39) hinting to rather low-lying strength of the positive parity states. A comparison with the region around 90Zr (Z=40, N=50), often considered as the ‘mirror’ of 68Ni, shows a distinct difference in the position and population of the d-s positive parity states using one-proton transfer reaction on 88Sr populating states in 89Y(Z=39, N=50). From the two-neutron transfer reaction study, new information on the 0+ states in 68Ni, was extracted. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed. [1] O. Sorlin,- Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 092501 (2002) [2] W. Rother,- Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 022502 (2011) [3] V. Bildstein,- Eur. Phys. J. A 48, 85 (2012) [4] N. Warr,- Eur. Phys. J. A 49, 40 (2013)

Since its inception superconducting RF (SRF) technology has been increasingly adopted in modern accelerators including ATLAS at Argonne, ISAAC II at TRIUMF, and the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge. SRF technology is also widely used in recently proposed accelerator projects including the FRIB project at MSU, the European Spallation Source at Lund, the Project-X at Fermi, and various Accelerator-driven subcritical programs for waste transmutation and energy production. Recent developments at Argonne focusing on SRF technology for low-velocity (b = v/c 0.1) hadron beams been developed reaching world record accelerating fields for this resonator class. This presentation reports on the development and testing of a superconducting quarter-wave resonator. The quarter-wave resonator is designed for beta = 0.077 ions, operates at 72 MHz and can provide more than 7.4 MV of accelerating voltage at the design beta, with peak surface fields of 165 mT and 117 MV/m. Operation was limited to this level not by RF surface defects but by our administrative limits on x-ray production. Current applications for this resonator and how its performance compares to current state-of-the-art superheating field measurements will also be discussed.

Exotic nuclei, short lived radioactive isotopes, are an ideal laboratory to study the strong- and weak interaction at play in the nuclear medium. Especially their unusual proton-to-neutron ratio allows validating and improving state-of-the-art nuclear models. An intriguing part of the nuclear-structure of exotic nuclei deals with the delicate interplay between the individual nucleon motion and the collective nucleus behavior. The ISOLDE facility at CERN produces a large variety of exotic nuclei and offers unique opportunities for laser spectroscopic, decay and Coulomb excitation studies. Distinctive features of the facility, like resonant laser ionization, will be presented and recent physics highlights obtained in the neutron-deficient lead isotopes will be discussed.

The facility for antiproton and ion research – FAIR – will produce secondary beams of unprecedented intensities. In order to produce such intense secondary beams and to provide intense primary beams, heavy ion beams of highest intensities will be required. The main driver accelerator of FAIR will be the SIS100 synchrotron. The GSI heavy ion accelerator facility will be the injector of ion beams for SIS100. In order to reach the final intensities above 1011 ions per cycle, the injector chain has to be modified accordingly and the SIS100 has to be tailored to the needs. Therefore an intensity upgrade program of the GSI accelerator facility is ongoing, which comprises developments of the ion sources, of the injector linacs and of the heavy ion synchrotron SIS18. The FAIR - project has been started with procurement of items and first civil construction actions. At GSI a new project structure has been implemented in order to address all GSI inkind contributions to the FAIR project.

Sixty years ago the United States launched the “Atoms for Peace” initiative to promote uses of nuclear science that improve the human condition. For forty-five of those years The Dow Chemical Company, headquartered in Midland, MI, has been working toward the same end, using nuclear science as an analytical tool to drive innovative chemistry solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, like the demand for clean water, energy generation and conservation, and greater agricultural productivity. Dow maintains in-house capabilities in neutron activation analysis (NAA), which is a powerful tool for the elemental characterization of a wide variety of materials. Generally associated with university and government research reactors, NAA is a mature technique that still retains many of its advantages over traditional wet-chemistry and instrumental methods of analysis. The present talk will provide an overview of the NAA capabilities at Dow and illustrate the value NAA brings to the company.

A superdeformed (SD) band has been identified in a non - alpha - conjugate nucleus 35Cl. It crosses the negative parity ground band above 11/2− and becomes the yrast at 15/2−. Lifetimes of all relevant states have been measured to follow the evolution of collectivity as well as formation of a cluster structure. Energetics as well as enhanced B(E2) and B(E1) values provide evidences for superdeformation as well as its relation to parity doublet cluster structure for the first time in A ≈ 40 region. Large scale shell model calculations assign (sd)16(pf)3 as the origin of these states. Calculated spectroscopic factors also correlate the SD states in 35Cl to those in 36Ar.

Quarter-wave resonators (QWRs) have a vertical asymmetry with respect to the beam axis which causes a deflection of the beam in the vertical plane. An analytic formula for this deflection has been derived by Alberto Facco and Vladimir Zvyagintsev in their paper entitled “Beam steering in superconducting quarter-wave resonators: An analytical approach”. This formula consists of three components which include factors relating to the magnetic and electric field of the cavity, as well as the vertical offset of the cavity with respect to the beam trajectory. Although it has been known for some time that QWRs do indeed induce vertical beam steering, it has yet to be verified through experiment quantitatively. The design for an experiment proposed at ReA3 to systematically measure this deflection and verify the proposed analytic formula will be presented as well as simulation results for the cavities at ReA3.

Uncertainties persist regarding the carcinogenic risk associated with exposure to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). While Fe ions represent only 0.03% of the GCR spectrum in terms of particle abundance, they contribute nearly 30% of the dose equivalent. Because of this, Fe-ion beams are often used for radiation biology studies geared towards understanding the biological effects of exposure to GCRs. It is anticipated that Fe ions may not contribute as significantly to the dose equivalent on the surface of Mars as compared to free space. The present study uses the Monte Carlo code FLUKA to simulate the response of a tissue-equivalent proportional counter on the surface of Mars to provide dosimetry values and microdosimetry distributions. Additionally, differential energy spectra will be generated in order to determine the fractional contribution to frequency, dose, and dose equivalent for each elemental ion from H to Ni on the surface of Mars. It is anticipated that these data will provide relevant benchmarks for use in future mission planning studies.

The increase of the computing power at low cost in the last decades made possible the widespread adoption of parallel and distributed computing for large scientific problems. Loosely coupled clusters of commodity computers are now a well established technology, enabling the creation of Grid infrastructure to share computational resources between geographically separated institutions. Another recent trend is that processing power is growing over the time due to architecture changes toward a massive increase of the number of cores per processor rather than an increase of the processor speed. In this talk, I will show some of my contributions in enabling scientific applications to use this type of resources, from structure prediction of materials to high energy physics. I will illustrate different user case scenarios and the solutions I helped to develop. I will also discuss the current efforts in multithreading and multiprocessing computing for data analysis and simulation in high energy physics.

Ion trapping and laser cooling have become the techniques of choice for high-precision experiments in different branches of physics. On one hand, Penning traps have been used for nuclear-astrophysics, standard model tests, anti-hydrogen, and trace element analysis experiments. On the other hand, Paul traps have been widely used for decades for frequency standards, quantum information, and various atomic physics applications. In this talk, I will discuss an ion trap facility JYFLTRAP (1), consists mainly of three different parts: a gas cell for stopping the radioactive ions; a radiofrequency quadrupole structure for cooling, accumulating and bunching the ions; and a double Penning trap system for isobaric purification and cyclotron frequency measurements. The data were used to study neutron shell closure at N = 50 (2,3), and for Q-value measurements of double beta-decay for neutrino mass hunting (4, 5, 6). I will discuss all of these results. Also I will discuss the progress on the ion trapping experiment at Los Alamos National Lab using laser cooled single ion in a linear Paul trap and its application to precision measurements (7).

Medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei belong to one of the most exciting regions of the nuclear landscape. The presence of shell closures at large neutron excess in the vicinity of the r-process provides an excellent region for investigating nuclear structure and the origin of the nuclei heavier than iron in the universe. Although the fission of actinides has proven to be the most efficient mechanism for producing nuclei in this region of the nuclear chart, the fragmentation of post-accelerated fission residues offers one method for producing rare-isotope beams in the vicinity of 132Sn. The feasibility of this technique has been studied experimentally at GSI [1]. However, producing secondary beams of the most neutron-rich nuclei poses significant challenges and only low-intensity beams ( 104 pps) can be achieved in the foreseeable future. Due to the fact that production of the most neutron-rich nuclei will remain limited for most conventional reaction studies, the use of a gas-filled active target and time projection chamber (ACTAR TPC) will make it possible to access nuclear structure information at relatively low beam intensities. The ACTAR TPC detection system is a detector development project that will use a large gas volume as both a sensitive detector and as the target itself. This offers significant advantages over traditional experiments due to its intrinsic high detection efficiency, low detection threshold, excellent angular and position resolution, and the ability to reconstruct the kinematics of every event in three dimensions. Furthermore, the use of a gas allows the use of thicker targets enhancing the probability for a nuclear reaction to occur and compensating the limited intensities of the secondary beams. During the R&D phase of the ACTAR TPC project, a GEANT4/ROOT based simulation package has been developed and was recently applied to the detector response of micro-pattern gaseous detectors like MICROMEGAS or GEMs in measurements with an alpha source and a small prototype of the final detector [2]. The seminar will summarize the different techniques available for the producing medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei and give the present status of the detector project including a description of the simulation package. Simulated results will be compared to experimental source data and the potential of active targets will be demonstrated for single nucleon transfer reactions. References [1] D. P´erez-Loureiro et al. Phys. Lett. B703 (2011) 552 [2] J. Pancin and D. P´erez-Loureiro et al., submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A.

Accomplishing the physics goals of any experiment requires a highly-tuned detection system and analysis. For some, the goals may necessitate the marriage of multiple, independent detector systems, whereas for others, a single detector may suffice. The data sets produced by these widely varying setups and their associated analyses are equally diverse. Indeed, any research program that seeks to be successful in the presence of such variation must have a flexible and scalable infrastructure to support it. The Digital Data Acquisition System (DDAS) at the NSCL is a system that satisfies these prerequisites and is used in a variety of the detector systems within the lab. It is composed of XIA Pixie-16 digitizers and a suite of software to control them. Support for variability within analyses is made possible by object-oriented design and modularized analysis code. A software package to facilitate this paradigm has been developed within the ROOT data analysis framework. To meet the needs of experiments, support for setting up Pixie-16 digitizers to require channel coincidences was recently added into the DDAS configuration utility. An overview of this development and the current state of the modular analysis package will be discussed.

Noble gas radiation detectors have a wide range of applications. Four detectors designed for very different purposes are described in this talk. The first relies on fast scintillation light for detection of gamma rays at MHz rates. This liquid detector is optimized for rapid elemental identification in nuclear material accounting or the detection of hidden contraband. The second detector relies on slow charge collection for detection of X-rays at kHz rates. This gas detector is optimized to provide precise spatial information for astrophysics observations involving polarized X-rays from our Sun. The readout and charge amplification scheme of this polarimeter belongs to the broad category of Micropattern Gas Detectors (MGDs). A different MGD for higher rates is under development at Bruker AXS for use in X-ray protein crystallography. Finally, time allowing, I will describe two quality control verification systems for large-area proportional tube particle tracking arrays in high-energy physics experiments.

The spherical shell stabilized superheavy elements (SHE) predicted at the extreme of high Z and A are a nuclear structure phenomenon. They owe their existence to shell effects, an energy contribution of quantum mechanical origin to the nuclear potential, without which they would not be bound. Experimental activities in this field, apart from attempts to directly synthesize new elements, have to investigate reaction mechanism studies and, in particular, they have to pursue nuclear structure investigations to study the development of single particle levels towards the expected gap for the proton (at Z = 114, 120 or 126) and neutron (at N = 184) shell closures in the region of the spherical SHE. A number of exciting results in terms of the synthesis of new elements [1,2,3] have lead us at the border of that region. In particular, the results obtained at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions (FLNR) for a rich number of decay patterns for 48Ca induced reactions on actinide targets [2] have by now been confirmed GSI [4,5,6], and LBNL [7]. Efficient experimental set-ups, including separators and advanced particle and photon detection arrangements, allow for detailed nuclear structure studies for nuclei at and beyond Z=100. A review of recent achievements is given in ref. [8]. Among the most interesting features is the observation of K-isomeric states, partly also as a tool to track the development of deformation towards the spherical SHE. The heaviest example for such a nuclear structure feature was found in 270Ds. In a recent experiment we could extend the knowledge on this nucleus and its decay products largely. For 266Hs we detected the sf branch with a surprisingly large branching ratio of 0.24  0.09, and revealed strong indications for a K-isomer for the first Z=108 isotope. The α-decay branch found in 262Sg establishes the missing link to 254No for which we measured a precise mass value with SHIPTRAP [9], yielding an experimental mass value for the whole decay chain up to 270Ds, an anchor point for theoretical models in mass and binding energy for the heaviest nuclei. These new results, their implications for the superheavy element research and the future perspectives of the field including the possible use of rare isotope beams will be discussed. References [1] S. Hofmann and G. Münzenberg, Rev. Mod. Phys. 72, 733 (2000). [2] Yu.Ts. Oganessian, J. Phys. G 34, R165 (2007). [3] K. Morita et al., J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 73, 2593 (2004). [4] S. Hofmann et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 32, 251 (2007). [5] C.E. Düllmann et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 252701 (2010). [6] S. Hofmann et al., EPJ A 48, 62 (2012). [7] L. Stavstera, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 132502 (2009). [8] R.-D. Herzberg and P.T. Greenlees, Prog. Part. Nuc. Phys. 61, 674 (2008). [9] M. Block et al., Nature 463, (2010) 785.

I briefly review the concept and properties of the Thick GEM (THGEM); it is a robust, high-gain gaseous electron multiplier, manufactured economically by standard printed-circuit drilling and etching technology. The large avalanche multiplication factor, the single-electron sensitivity, the high-rate capability, the good timing properties and the possibility of industrial production capability of large-area robust detectors, pave ways towards a broad spectrum of potential applications. In this seminar, I will present and discuss in details some recent results on development of large-area THGEM detector for Nuclear Industry and Homeland security, including: • Advanced fast-cold neutron imaging detector for tomography/radiography applications, with the aim of investigating various practical thermal-hydraulic processes (such as dynamic gas-liquid two-phase flow), relevant for nuclear power plan technology development. Some other possible applications include dynamic visualization of combustion engine fluid dynamics, non-destructive monitoring of capillary processes, investigation of heat exchange in fluidized-bed heat exchangers for the steel industry, or investigations of turbulent oil-gas flow through a pipe in petrochemical industry, radioactive waste characterization. • A novel Liquid-Xe detector concept for combined fast-neutron and gamma imaging and spectroscopy. It comprises a LXe-filled capillaries converter and scintillator coupled to a UV-sensitive gaseous imaging photomultiplier (GPM). Radiation imaging is obtained by localization of the scintillation-light from LXe with the position-sensitive GPM. The latter comprises a cascade of Thick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEM), where the first element is coated with a CsI UV-photocathode. The new detector concept has potential applications in combined fast-neutron and gamma-ray screening of hidden explosives and fissile materials with pulsed sources. Other potential applications range in High Energy physics environment as well as other fields, including High-Rate Particle Tracking and Triggering, Time Projection Chamber Readout, Photon Detectors for Cherenkov Imaging Counters (RICH), X-Ray Astronomy, Medical Applications, Homeland Security.

Since SH Copper Products Co., Ltd. (SH Copper) first succeeded in mass producing Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) in Japan, SH Copper has been producing various type of OFC products. There are some types of OFC which are C10200, C10100, C10100 Class1, etc. Major applications of OFC are accelerators and parts used in vacuum because copper which contains high impurities, especially gas contents, contaminate the vacuum. Because SH Copper’s OFC contains low impurities and gas contents, it has been applied to various projects of particle accelerators and other vacuum applications. To achieve such low gas contents, SH Copper applied vacuum pump to molten copper. This time I would like to introduce SH Copper’ OFC focusing on test results of OFC in vacuum, past production and particle accelerator project record, manufacturing process and properties of OFC.

As nuclei become more neutron rich, the nuclear structure changes their properties. For example, beta decays will access increasingly more neutron unbound states. The measurement of neutrons emitted from these states is critical, as beta-delayed neutron emission becomes a dominating decay mode. To this end, the Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy (VANDLE)[1] measures the energy of neutrons emitted from nuclear excited states populated through beta decay or transfer reactions. The time-of-flight technique determines the energy, which requires a time resolution on the order of 1 ns. In addition, the detector requires a low detection threshold to measure neutron energies of 100 keV or lower. VANDLE accomplishes these design goals by combining plastic scintillators with a digital data acquisition system. This system uses XIAs DGF Pixie-16 hardware. We designed an algorithm for the extraction of sub-sample time information from digitized waveforms and a new triggering scheme. A successful experimental campaign at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, using ions produced via proton induced fission on 238U, has yielded preliminary results on beta-delayed neutrons in the 78Ni region. Of particular interest, several nuclei unexpectedly displayed high energy neutrons. Results from this experiment and plans for future experiments will be presented.

Strongly interacting Fermi gases are ideal systems for the study of pairing phenomena in theory and experiment. In addition to the formation of superfluid condensates of bosonic Cooper pairs, translational symmetry may be spontaneously broken for certain configurations. A general scheme for the identification of such inhomogeneous phases is presented and applied to the case of a two-component Fermi gas in 1D. The phase diagram spanned by temperature, population- and mass-imbalance is explored. An analysis of the structure and properties of the discovered inhomogeneous phases provides insight into the mechanism underlying inhomogeneous pairing.

The 12C(12C,n) reaction (Q=-2.6 MeV) is a potential neutron source for the weak s-process occurring in shell-carbon burning of massive stars. The uncertainty in this reaction rate limits our understanding of the production of elements in the range 60 A 90. Current stellar models must rely on the smooth extrapolation of a dubious statistical model calculation based on experimental data which terminates above 3.5 MeV (center-of-mass). Furthermore, the extrapolation cannot account for the resonant structure that should continue to exist at low energies and may contribute a significant rate enhancement at stellar energies. At Notre Dame, this reaction cross section has been measured in finer steps down to 3.1 MeV. The new measurements cover more than two-thirds of the Gamow window for T9=1.1, a typical shell-carbon burning temperature. In addition, a new extrapolation based on measurements of the mirror system has been developed which tries to account for resonances in the excitation function and provides improved agreement with the experimental data. The combination of the recent low-energy measurements with the new extrapolation provides a much tighter constraint on the stellar reaction rate and corresponding nucleosynthesis yields in shell-carbon burning of massive stars.

In a recent study of mixed-symmetry states in N = 80 isotones, namely 134Xe [1], 136Ba [2] and 138Ce [3], a large effect of the single-particle structure on the evolution of these excitations was observed. The M1 transition strength between the mixed-symmetric, (2+1,ms) state and the nearby lower-lying fully-symmetric, (2+1,fs) state in 138Ce was found fragmented while in 134Xe and 136Ba the strength remains concentrated in one transition. The reason for the observed instability of (2+1,ms) state in 138Ce was attributed to the presence of a πg7/2 sub-shell closure at Z = 58 [3]. To investigate the predictions made on the basis of calculations done by Quasiparticle-Phonon Model (QPM) and to probe the configurations of the low-lying excited states, a measurement of the g factor of 2+1 in 138Ce was performed. The low-lying excited states in 138Ce were populated via inverse Coulomb excitation on a 1 mg/cm2-thick 24Mg target at ATLAS, ANL. To measure the g factor, the Time-Dependent Recoil Into Vacuum technique (TDRIV) was employed and attenuation of the angular distribution of emitted 2+1 ͢ 0+ ϒ transitions was measured. The experimental setup included Yale plunger device and Gammasphere. Principle of the TDRIV technique and the implications of the extracted g factor on the proposed proton sub-shell closure will be discussed. In a second experiment, possibility of the emergence of a sub-shell closure at N = 58 [4] was investigated via beta-decay studies of 84−86Ga and isomer spectroscopy of 85−88Ge. The excited states in neutron-rich Ga and Ge isotopes were populated in the in-flight fission of 238U beam on a 9Be target. The experiment was performed at the Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (RIBF) at RIKEN, Japan. The BigRIPS and zero-degree spectrometer was used to identify and separate the reaction residues and the ions of interest were implanted in a segmented Silicon detector array called WAS3ABI. Gamma rays emitted after the beta decay of the ions reaching the final focal plane were identified by the EURICA array, consisting of 12 HPGe cluster detectors. Results of the ongoing analysis will be presented. [1] T. Ahn et al., Phys. Lett. B 679, 19 (2009) [2] N. Pietralla et al., Phys. Rev. C 58, 796 (1998) [3] G. Rainovski et al., Rev. Lett. 96, 122501 (2006) [4] J. A. Winger et al., Phys. Rev. C 81, 044303 (2010)

The talk will cover the basics of the complex potential theory. Examples on magnet system design (including iron-dominated and coil-dominated, separate function and combined function) will be described.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has over fifty years experience in accelerator business. MHI supplied various accelerator components to the major accelerator projects such as TRISTAN, KEKB, J-PARC, SPring-8, SACLA in Japan. MHI's main products are normal conducting accelerators (S/C/X-band electron accelerator and proton accelerator), superconducting accelerators (single cavity and multi cell cavity), RF components (waveguide, coupler and RF window), vacuum beam tube & chamber and so on.

The rare isotopes with large asymmetry of neutrons and protons have revealed unexpected structural forms and opened a new view of nuclear shells. Since the discovery of the neutron halo, reaction spectroscopy has been proved to be an immensely sensitive tool to unearth the mysteries of the unknown rare isotopes. The relativistic rare isotopes beam from in-flight facilities and low-energy re-accelerated beams offer complementary scope as will be shown. The evolution of matter radii of neutron rich nuclei along an isotopic chain presents the signatures on unexpected deviations from known systematics of the matter distribution. Nuclear skin or halo are often formed at one approaches the neutron-drip line. In this presentation I will describe our experiments on the determination of matter radii at the FRS, GSI. The oxygen isotopes around the new N=16 shell gap as well as neutron-rich Mg isotopes showing breakdown of the N=20 shell closure will be presented. Recent efforts on neutron-rich Ni isotopes will also be introduced. In order to determine the neutron skin thickness from the matter radii, a knowledge of proton radii is crucial for the neutron-rich isotopes. A new technique of using the charge changing reaction to extract the proton radii will be discussed and first preliminary observations for the neutron-rich boron isotopes will be shown. The low-energy ISOL beams of rare isotopes offer the possibility to make precision investigations through inelastic scattering and transfer reactions. Some observations and ongoing activities in this direction on light nuclei at TRIUMF will be discussed. I will also describe our new reaction facility, IRIS, with a thin solid hydrogen target that was recently commissioned for studying such reactions.

We started the beam commissioning of J-PARC linac in November 2006 and the user operation in December 2008. Since then, we have been continuing the effort to ramp up the beam power while sustaining the user operation. Although the beam operation was interrupted by damages due to a major earthquake in 2011, we recovered the beam operation after nine month restoration effort and resumed the beam power ramp up to reach 300 kW on the neutron target. In this presentation, we review our experience in the beam commissioning with emphasis on the re-commissioning after the earthquake. The recent radioactive material leak accident at J-PARC will also be briefly reported.

Although the consensus of climate scientists is that a significant fraction of global warming is human-caused, there is a rising level of public polarization about the matter. Here I will discuss several reasons for this divide, and how clean energy, possibly including nuclear, can be the bridge across the political chasm to deal with the matter in a way that is sound both politically and technologically. We will also discuss other reasons besides climate change to move away from fossil fuels, and the advantages and drawbacks of renewable energy. Finally, we address some comments to students why they should consider entering the field as well as to faculty so as to promote support for an undergraduate minor in renewable energy. [In a separate 15 min segment if desired I discuss some new evidence for neutrinos being tachyons. For fun, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9aLyfFnfOU]

It is known that the traditional magic numbers do not remain a robust feature in all nuclei. Described as a large gaps between the underlying single-particle orbitals, the locations of the magic numbers have been observed to vary throughout the chart of nuclides due to movement of the orbital energies. One of the most drastic regions for shell evolution is in the neutron p - sd orbitals (3 ≤ N ≤ 20). Here, single-particle energy gaps at N = 8 and 20 are reduced while there is an emergence of new shell gaps at N = 16 and Z = 14 in the neutron-rich nuclei. A great deal of recent effort, both experimentally and theoretically, has been invested in these nuclei to disentangle the dominant components of the nuclear force driving these new features. In this talk, results from recent measurements on the single-particle structure of p - sd shell nuclei (A ∼ 20) will be presented. Spectroscopic information key to understanding the underlying single-particle structure, including angular distributions, single-particle energy centroids, and two-body matrix elements, have been extracted from single-neutron adding (d, p) reactions carried out in inverse kinematics. The HELIOS spectrometer, a world leading device for these types of reactions, was used to measure and identify outgoing protons. The light-mass neutron-rich radioactive beams were provided by the ATLAS in-flight facility at Argonne National Laboratory. I will discuss the impact of these results on our current understanding of shell spacing in light nuclei, including comparisons with modern shell-model calculations, as well as the direction of future work along these topics.

Understanding the formation and evolution of cosmological structure is one of the most pressing challenges in modern astrophysics. The last decade has seen a rapid improvement in our ability to observe galaxies, galaxy clusters, and the cosmic web – a change that requires corresponding gains in our ability to model these structures in order to understand them. In this talk, I will discuss my efforts to understand cosmological structure formation using large-scale numerical simulations. I will explain the fundamental methods used to model these systems, and will show recent results from simulations of galaxy clusters – in particular, results that include sophisticated physical treatments of the intracluster medium and of gravitational lensing.

The neutron and proton driplines are now achieved in broad ranges both on proton-rich and on neutron-rich sides of the nuclide map. It is then natural to expand our knowledge to particle unstable systems represented by states in continuum. Many of such states beyond for the driplines are demonstrating unusual forms of nuclear dynamics which we characterize as few-body phenomena. Among them are two-proton radioactivity, democratic decays, soft excitation modes in the three-body continuum. "True" two-neutron and "true" four-neutron emission in extreme situation of low decay energy may lead to existence of 2n or 4n radioactive decays. Several recent theoretical results concerning the few-body phenomena in the dripline nuclear systems are discussed. The relevant experimental studies at Flerov Lab are briefly reviewed. The recent experiments belonging to this class of physical phenomena performed at NSCL (45Fe, 6Be, 10He, 26O) are discussed from theoretical point of view.

In the last decade, through technological, experimental and theoretical advances, the situation in experimental low-energy fission studies has changed dramatically. With the use of advanced production and detection techniques, much more detailed fission information can be obtained for traditional regions of fission research and, very importantly, new regions of nuclei have become accessible for fission studies. The talk will, first of all, give a review of recent low-energy fission experiments in very proton-rich nuclei in the lead region. Results of experiments at ISOLDE (CERN) on the very exotic process of beta-delayed fission (βDF) of the neutron-deficient isotopes 178,180Tl [1], 194,196At and 200,202Fr will be presented. The studies of Tl and At isotopes were facilitated by the use of the highly-selective Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source of ISOLDE [2]. As a result of these experiments, a new type and a region of asymmetric fission was established, which includes isotopes 178,180Hg (N/Z=1.22-1.25), in addition to the previously known broad area of asymmetric fission in the heavy actinides with N/Z~1.55-1.6. The much more intense beams of the future ISOL-based facilities will allow in-depth studies of these and neighbouring βDF isotopes. Some examples of complementary experiments to study beta-delayed fission at the velocity filter SHIP (GSI, Darmstadt) will be given. The talk will also address the prospects of detailed βDF studies in the neutron-rich isotopes, which will become possible with the new generation of ISOL-based facilities and approaches using the multi-nucleon transfer reactions. As some examples, possible βDF studies of very neutron-rich isotopes of Fr, Ac and Pa will be presented. The recent complementary fusion-fission experiments in the lead region, performed by our collaboration at the tandem of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) will also be reviewed. 1. A. Andreyev et al., “New type of asymmetric fission in proton-rich nuclei”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 252502 (2010) 2. S. Rothe et al., “Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization Spectroscopy”, Nature Communications (2013). *On behalf of York – Leuven - Los-Alamos – Bratislava – Darmstadt – Geneva – Grenoble –Liverpool – Manchester – Tokai collaboration

The competition between spherical and deformed nuclear shapes at low energy gives rise to shape coexistence in the region of the neutron-deficient lead isotopes with Z~82 and N~104 [1]. In order to determine to which extend the ground and/or isomeric states of those and neighboring nuclides are affected by this phenomenon, an extended campaign of investigation of changes in the mean-square charge radii is on-going at ISOLDE. By combining the high sensitivity of the in-source laser spectroscopy technique, ISOLDE mass separation and Windmill alpha-decay spectroscopy setup [2], it has been possible to study long isotopic chains of lead [3] and polonium [4], down to N=100 and N=107 respectively, and, recently, thallium isotopic chain down to N=98 [5], see Figure. In this contribution, we will first present the basics of the resonance laser spectroscopy as applied in shape coexistence studies. This will be followed by the discussion of the first preliminary results of the 2012 campaign at ISOLDE to study long chains of the astatine and lightest gold isotopes [6]. In the gold and astatine cases, next to Faraday cup and Windmill measurements, also the Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight (MR-ToF) mass separation technique [7] involving the ISOLTRAP collaboration was used. The first determination of the ionization potential of the element astatine will also be discussed [8]. Figure. Charge radii for Pt-At isotopes. For the sake of clarity the data for different elements are shifted relative to each other by a vertical off-set. Tl data for the light isotopes are from ISOLDE [5] and Gatchina. Preliminary data for gold and astatine chains are from [6]. References [1] K.Heyde and J. Wood. Rev. Mod. Physics 83, 1467 (2011) [2] A.N. Andreyev et al,, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 252502 (2010) [3] H. De Witte et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 112502 (2007) [4] T.E. Cocolios et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 052503 (2011) [5] A.N. Andreyev, A. Barzakh et al., IS511 experiment at ISOLDE (2012) [6] A.N. Andreyev, V. Fedosseev et al., IS534 experiment at ISOLDE (2012) [7] R. N. Wolf et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 686, 82-90 (2012) [8] S. Rothe, A. N. Andreyev et al., Nature Communications, 2389 (2013)

Understanding nuclei is a quantum many-body problem of incredible richness and diversity and studies of nuclei address some of the great challenges that are common throughout modern science. Nuclear structure research strives to build a unified and comprehensive microscopic framework in which bulk nuclear properties, nuclear excitations, and nuclear reactions can all be described. A new and exciting focus in this endeavor lies in the description of exotic and short lived nuclei at the limits of proton-to-neutron asymmetry, mass, and charge. In this talk, experimental and theoretical advances in rare isotope research will be reviewed in the context of the main scientific questions. Special attention will be given to the worldwide radioactive beams initiatives and to the progress in theoretical studies of nuclei due to the advent of extreme-scale computing platforms.

Approximately 2.8 Myr before the present our planet was subjected to the debris of a supernova explosion. The terrestrial proxy for this event was the discovery of live atoms of 60Fe in a deep-sea ferromanganese crust. The signature for this supernova event should also reside in magnetite (Fe3O4) magnetofossils produced by magnetotactic bacteria, which live in the ocean sediments, extant at the time of the Earth-supernova interaction. We have conducted accelerator mass spectrometry measurements, searching for 60Fe in the magnetofossil component of a Pacific Ocean sediment core. This talk will present the results of this first search and, time permitting, discuss our new search for this signal in a second Pacific Ocean sediment core.

The first detection of single ionizing events occurred more than 100 years ago when Ernest Rutherford and Hans Geiger succeeded in recording individual alpha-particles from radon decay using a gas-filled detector and an electrometer. Remarkably diverse and useful innovations followed, and continue to emerge even today. Thus, gas-filled detectors are the exemplary evolutionary survivors in nuclear and particle physics experimental technique. Although this ample record has many interesting chapters, I will focus on my favorite topics within this humble corner of the quest to understand our universe. The evolution of these devices is interesting not only for their substantial contributions to scientific progress, but also for what was, surprisingly, overlooked as technology evolved. Energy spectrum measured for 137Cs γ-rays (662 keV) with a high-pressure xenon gas TPC, relevant to the search for neutrino-less double-beta decay in 136Xe. This appears to be the best energy resolution ever obtained in a xenon-based detector. This result also implies several important benefits for a direct detection WIMP search – including the possibility of directional sensitivity to the expected "WIMP wind" in a massive detector.

Several expensive experiments seek to determine the neutrino mass scale by measuring the rate of neutrinoless double-beta decay. The rate indeed depends on the mass scale but also depends on a nuclear matrix element that must be calculated. Current calculations are uncertain by factors of two or three at least. I describe recent theoretical work on several fronts to reduce the uncertainty. Developments in effective field theory, in ab initio nuclear structure, and in nuclear density-functional theory promise significantly more accurate matrix elements in the near future.

In 1974 Hawking argued that quantum mechanics becomes inconsistent in a theory that allows black holes to form. This paradox has caused physicists to question the most basic ideas of space, time, gravity and quantum theory. The story has had many twists and turns, with some claims at a resolution that later turned out to be wrong. In recent years string theory has supplied a resolution: quantum gravity effects operate on macroscopic scales and alter the structure of the hole to a 'fuzzball'. In this talk we will explain the paradox, outline some attempts that were tried, and explain the physics that leads to fuzzballs.

I will discuss recent LHC and RHIC jet measurements in the context of QGP (Quark-Gluon-Plasma) tomography. In particular jets, produced at very early times, can be used analogous to the well known "Rutherford Scattering" to learn more about the hot and dense medium created in heavy-ion collisions with focus on the LHC results.

The "ab initio" approach to nuclear structure, in which one solves the nuclear many-body problem with interactions based on Chiral Effective Field theory (or with other interactions that fit the nucleon-nucleon phase shifts) is emerging as a validated and predictive theory. With snapshots of recent theoretical and computational advances as background, I will present recent results in light nuclei and neutron drops confined in a trap. Neutron drop solutions help guide developments of next-generation Energy Density Functionals. Both shell structure and collective motion are evident in these results.

In her talk on “Identities and Inequalities: GLBT Scientists, Scientific Research, and the Making of Political Movements,” Dr. Mezey will examine the historical formation of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual (LGBT) identities. She will look at past scientists who we now understand as LGBT, as well as current scientists who claim such identities. Dr. Mezey will provide a brief overview of both the natural and social science research on LGBT people, and examine the connection between gender/sexual categories and social inequalities. Drawing on such inequalities, Dr. Mezey will focus specifically on inequalities in Michigan law regarding marriage equality (aka “gay marriage”), and suggest how scientific research both helps and hinders the LGBT movement and paths to equality. She will end the talk with a quick overview of current career options for LGBT scientists within the natural sciences. Dr. Nancy J. Mezey graduated from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in Sociology in 2002. She is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology, the Sociology Program Director, and advisor to the Sociology Club at Monmouth University. At Monmouth University, Dr. Mezey has also served as the chair of the faculty governance body, was Associate Director and Director of the Institute for Global Understanding, and was the 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Teacher Award. Her areas of specialization are family sociology, race-class-gender studies, gender studies, the sociology of sexualities, and qualitative methods. Her research focuses largely on how historical factors, social inequalities, social activism, and policies shape and affect new family forms. Her first book, New Choices, New Families: How Lesbians Decide about Motherhood, is a multi-racial feminist study of how lesbians decide to become mothers or remain childfree. Her upcoming book, GLBT Families, will be published in 2014 by Pine Forge press as part of the Contemporary Family Perspectives series edited by Susan J. Ferguson. Dr. Mezey has also published in a variety of academic journals and books in the areas of GLBT families and intimate partner violence. Outside of Monmouth University, Dr. Mezey is an active member of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) where she has held several elected and appointed positions. She is also an engaged member of several other sociological organizations including Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) and the American Sociological Association. Dr. Mezey is also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer where she served in Mali, West Africa from 1988-1990.

This talk will discuss the prospects for the measurement of coherent elastic neutral current neutrino-nucleus scattering using low-threshold detectors. I will explore the potential physics reach of such an experiment and survey possible neutrino sources for future experiments.

Black Holes are interesting laboratories for a range of physical processes. Black Holes formed in dense stellar cluster during the early epoch of structure formation ought, in theory, to provide a particularly interesting set of possible physical interactions, but have proved surprisingly elusive. Recent detection of strong candidates for Black Hole systems in globular clusters are testing our understanding of such systems and driving renewed interest in the dynamical evolution of Black Holes and their interaction with their environment.

Analysis by Herwig and collaborators using 1-D stellar evolution codes of the well observed very late thermal pulse event in Sakurai's object indicate that hydrogen ingestion events in AGB stars can be as brief as a single day and produce neutron exposures that are intermediate between the s-process and r-process levels. The nucleosynthesis involved has a unique signature and has been termed i-process nucleosynthesis. The brevity of these events enables us to simulate them in 3D. At the same time, the speed of the nuclear reactions involved and the huge energy release they produce demands a 3D treatment. In collabor¬ation with Herwig, I have been building a new capability to perform such simula¬tions despite the need to simulate the entire convection zone for a great many eddy turn-over times and an enormous number of sound wave crossing times. To make this possible, we are using powerful new numerical algorithms as well as advanced, many-core computing devices. Over the last year, we have carried out a simulation of the event in Sakurai's object on a billion-cell grid following the star through 10 hours with 2 million time steps. This work is being done on the sustained petaflop/s Blue Waters computing system at NCSA. The same code has scaled to over 700,000 cores and 1.5 Pflop/s on this machine running problems involving only several sound crossing times on a trillion cell grid. The industry and government drive to exascale computing will make possible a whole range of new calculations of the details in 3D of convection-reaction processes in which the combustion and convective eddy turn-over time scales are comparable. I will explain what is new in the simulation code's numerical treatments, show evidence that we can obtain converged results for these problems at affordable grid resolution, discuss new light shed by our calculations on the details of the Sakurai object event, and mention a number of related problems that we feel we can attack in the years ahead with this new code running on new computing platforms. These related problems include hydrogen ingestion events in stars of very low or even zero metallicity, where we think the i-process is especially important.

ABSTRACT: Transport of charged particle beams with high intensity in terms of beam power and/or strong space-charge intensity occur in a plethora of applications ranging from how power machines like FRIB, spallation neutron sources, and next-generation light sources, to high space-charge intensity machines associated with beam-driven Heavy Ion Fusion and High Energy Density Physics studies. Such applications require a high degree of beam control to minimize particle losses. This necessitates a detailed understanding of the beam distribution, machine alignment issues, applied fields, halo production processes, and parasitic species effects such as electron cloud issues. Strong space-charge issues commonly occur near injection energy. When space-charge intensity is high, a charged particle beam behaves much as a plasma with the applied focusing forces taking the role of a neutralizing species in a plasma. Collective waves and instabilities can generate excessive halo, degrade beam quality by growing phase-space area, and result in a loss of beam control. Here I overview selected topics relevant to the transport of high intensity beams including: 1) Centroid control in solenoid transport systems. 2) A multipole expansion for realistic numerical simulations of focusing optics using only minimal field data measurements on surfaces. 3) Classes of distributions adapted for quiescent transport at high space-charge intensity. 4) The role of non-tenuous halo processes in space-charge induced transport limits for quadrupole focusing channels.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is the world's largest neutrino detector, instrumenting a gigaton of the Antarctic ice cap as neutrino target and Cherenkov medium. IceCube's DeepCore infill array, completed in 2010, is designed to search for dark matter and measure oscillations of the atmospheric neutrino flux in the 10-100 GeV range. Initial measurements of atmospheric oscillation parameters with DeepCore will be presented, and the prospects for an improved Antarctic low energy neutrino detector called PINGU will be discussed. PINGU is designed to achieve an energy threshold of a few GeV, which would allow determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy via the MSW effect with a few years' exposure.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is the world's largest neutrino detector, instrumenting a cubic kilometer of the Antarctic ice cap below the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Completed in 2010, the primary scientific goal of IceCube is the detection of high energy (TeV scale and above) neutrinos emitted by astrophysical accelerators of cosmic rays. Although the sources of the high energy cosmic rays remain unknown, candidates include galactic objects such as supernova remnants and extragalactic objects such as active galactic nuclei and gamma ray bursts. A flux of neutrinos originating outside our solar system - including the highest energy neutrinos ever observed - has been detected in the IceCube data, although their exact origin remains unclear. The nature of these neutrinos and the prospects for uncovering their sources will be discussed.

Abstract: Patrick Hurh, Mechanical Support Department Head at Fermilab's Accelerator Division, recounts several harrowing instances of crisis during project installation and experiment operations. Each of these cases unexpectedly became the "critical path" and threatened to de-rail the project or experiment. The resulting technical and managerial lessons learned will be revealed and discussed.

The atomic mass is a fundamental property and links directly and uniquely the binding energy to all effective forces that hold the atom together. In fact, the Nobel Prize awarded Nuclear Shell model was developed only after mass measurements indicated ‘magic’ behavior, which could not be explained with the existing theories at the time. Today, thanks to rare beam facilities, like the ISAC complex at TRIUMF or the in-flight facilities, present and future, at MSU, mass measurements are possible at far more isotopes and hence much more exotic isotopes can be accessed. Moreover, atomic masses are important parameters in nuclear astrophysics, for example for production paths of the chemical elements in stellar object. However, for the measurements, rare short-lived isotopes are required, and therefore the mass measurement systems have to be adopted. The TITAN (TRIUMF’s Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science) was developed to carry out mass measurements of very short-lived isotopes but maintaining high precision and accuracy. The measurement is carried out using a Penning ion trap, and storing one or a few ions in the trap for the experiment. In this way, some of the most exotic isotopes at any rare beam facility have been measured, and a world record in shortest half-life was achieved. I will give an overview of the TITAN program and how it links to answering some of the outstanding questions in nuclear science, present some research highlights, and give an update on the TRIUMF facilities.

Understanding nuclear structure is a major concern in nuclear science. Typically, nuclei are relatively compact due to the nuclear force binding together the nucleons. However, there exist nuclei that do not follow this common structure, instead exhibiting a normal core with one or more nucleons that are loosely bound. These nuclei are found along the proton and neutron driplines, where there is an overabundance of one of the nucleon types. Because of their exotic configuration, halo nuclei challenge the reliability of typical nuclear structure theoretical models. The traditional example for halo nuclei is 11Li [1], a two-neutron halo. Similarities between 11Li and 22C, such as their separation energies [2], suggested that 22C would also have a halo structure, consisting of a bound Borromean system made of a 20C core plus two valence neutrons. The first evidence of the 22C halo structure was provided by the work of Tanaka et. al, [3] who bombarded a 22C beam, produced at RIKEN, on a liquid hydrogen cell. The proton reaction cross section for 22C was found to be 1338±274 millibarns. This is significantly larger than the reaction cross sections observed for 19C and 20C. Furthermore, the root-mean-square (rms) matter radius was determined to be 5.4±0.9 fm, well above the theoretical value extrapolated from other carbon isotope rms matter radii. Using direct time-of-flight based mass measurement techniques, Gaudefroy et. al [4] were able to determine the mass of 22C for the first time. The mass excess for 22C was measured to be 53.64±0.38 MeV. By comparing the measured neutron separation energy with the calculated matter radius, 22C was described as a two-neutron halo with an s-wave configuration combined with a fully occupied d5/2 orbit. The experimental studies leading to the discovery of 22C as well as the subsequent probing of the halo structure will be discussed. References: 1. I. Tanihata et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 55, 2676 (1985) 2. G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault, Nucl. Phys. A729, 337 (2003) 3. K. Tanaka et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 062701 (2010) 4. L. Gaudefroy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 202503 (2012)

Predicted five decades ago, the Higgs mechanism provides a means to explain the origin of elementary particle masses. This mechanism suggests that the quantum vacuum is filled with a fluctuating condensate of Higgs bosons, with which particles interact to gain mass. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson has been hailed as a historic triumph of quantum field theory and has given the field of physics new insight into the nature of our universe. This successful connection of theory prediction and experimental discovery seems like serendipity, but the story does not yet appear complete. Measurements of Higgs boson properties have thus far yielded good agreement with predicted values, but many questions remain. The mass of the Higgs boson itself is an excellent indicator of new physics, as it is too heavy to properly explain electroweak precision measurements and too light to maintain a stable vacuum. This presentation will discuss MSU's role in the path to Higgs discovery, the most recent Higgs boson property measurements, and the role MSU will play in the future of Higgs physics.

Khalifa University was established in 2007 by the government of Abu Dhabi as part of the Abu Dhabi Plan 2030, a broad initiative to prepare the Abu Dhabi and UAE economies for the post-oil era. A major theme in the AD Plan 2030 is the creation of a knowledge-based economy with engineering design and technological innovation as cornerstones and in alignment with this, Khalifa University has focused on developing and delivering world-class education and research experiences in undergraduate engineering. As a member of the University’s founding faculty, in my presentation, I will discuss some of the early work we’ve done to develop the “Design Core”, a project-based, research-oriented, longitudinally-integrated program of design education in the College of Engineering. I will emphasize the processes and facilities we’ve created to establish the “cornerstone” freshmen design experiences and best-practices we’ve developed for extending the approach to upper-division capstone and graduate-level project-based design education.

Core-Collapse Supernovae are some of the most energetic phenomena in the modern universe. They rival their parent galaxy in visual brightness, however, this is only a small fraction of the total energy released. Most of the gravitationally energy released during the core collapse is converted to neutrinos. These neutrinos and their effect on the supernova central energy drive most of the dynamics associated with garden variety core-collapse supernovae. In this talk, I will sketch out the theory of core-collapse supernovae, give a summary and update of the state-of-the-art research into understanding the explosion mechanism, and present some predictions on what the expected neutrino signal in Earth-based detectors will be and what it can tell us about the progenitor stars. If time permits, I'll discuss the outcome of failed supernova.

The TRIUMF Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility produces intense radioactive ion beams using the ISOL method driven by spallation of various targets with 500MeV protons up to 100 microamps in current. The radioactive beams are delivered to various experimental stations for experiments at energies ranging from a few tens of keV to 15 MeV per nucleon. The Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy at ISAC group operates two HPGe arrays for complimentary studies of nuclear structure using both beta-decay and nuclear reactions of exotic beams. Recent decay studies with the 8pi spectrometer have focused on nuclei produced from Actinide targets in the neutron-rich mass 100 region around Sr and Zr. With accelerated beams delivered to the TIGRESS array recent studies include the d(94Sr,95Sr)p transfer reaction as well as various studies of halo structures in Be isotopes. Our group is also collaborating with several groups from universities across Canada on the GRIFFIN project to upgrade the decay spectroscopy capabilities at ISAC by replacing the HPGe aspect of the 8pi with an array of 16 large-volume clover detectors and instrument it with a state-of-the-art digital electronics data acquisition system. GRIFFIN will be completed in 2015 and will greatly enhance the capabilities in the nuclear structure and fundamental symmetries research programs with stopped radioactive beams. Recent experimental results will be presented along with an overview of the GRIFFIN project.

Quantum annealing (QA) is a promising heuristic approach to solve classical hard optimization problems using quantum hardware that is being developed at the present time. We will describe the challenges of formulating and translating the practical NASA problems in the area of artificial intelligence into the 512-qubit quantum annealing machine produced by D-Wave Systems and recently installed at NASA Ames. The computational power of the QA hardware is limited due to limited number of qubits, restricted connectivity, and poor control precision; embedding problems of interest into the current generation of the device presents hard computational challenges in its own right. We will discuss some of these difficulties and the research effort to circumvent them. We will also discuss the insight into the computational power of open system QA related to incoherent multi-spin tunneling in a dissipative environment.

I will describe the status of an experiment investigating the beta decay of 14O using a novel superconducting beta spectrometer developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The shape of the 0+  1+ ground state branch in the 14O  14N beta decay is sensitive to contributions beyond the allowed approximation. In particular, it is a good candidate for investigating the contributions from weak magnetism. In addition, the branching ratio in the decay is an important ingredient in analyses that use 0+  0+ superallowed beta decays to test the unitarity of the CKM matrix. Both the shape and branching ratio determinations are complicated by the smallness of the branching ratio (ca. 0.5% for the ground state branch) and the large gamma background from the excited branch decays. I will present our new measurements of the beta spectra for the ground state and first excited state branches in 14O decay and our results to date on the analysis of the shape and branching ratio.

Neutron-deficient nuclei along and beyond the N=Z line play a key role in our understanding of astrophysics, weak-interaction physics, and nuclear structure. For instance, the nuclear-structure properties of 69Br and 73Rb are important for characterizing the reaction pathway through 68Se and 72Kr — so-called waiting-point nuclei in the astrophysical rp process — significantly influencing stellar environments and events such as type I x-ray bursts. In addition, masses and beta-decay properties in this region, where both protons and neutrons occupy the same valence orbitals, are of significant interest in nuclear-structure studies. Probing these systems in the laboratory is extremely challenging: nuclei with N=Z lie progressively further away from the valley of beta stability with increasing mass. Rare-isotope beams and associated techniques are a necessary and powerful tool for accessing such nuclei at the limits of stability. In this talk, I will discuss two recent experiments, utilizing fragmentation beams at NSCL and GANIL, focused on measuring the properties of 69Br as well as Tz = -1/2, -1, -3/2 nuclei in this mass region. To further explore the proton drip line at NSCL, e.g., between Kr and Zr at N=Z, development of fragmentation beams driven by a 92Mo primary beam has been proposed. I will discuss the advantages of this endeavor and associated physics.

The fusion of neutron-rich carbon, oxygen or neon isotopes plays an important role for the explanation of the so-called X-ray superbursts which occur in the carbon-enriched outer layers of accreting neutron stars. While measurements of many of the critical fusion reactions (e.g. 24C + 24C) are outside today’s experimental capabilities, some systems closer to the valley of stability can already be measured using existing technologies. In this contribution I will report on measurements of the fusion cross sections of 10,12,13,14,15C on 12C with an active target-detector system consisting of a methane-filled Multi-Sampling Ionization Chamber (MUSIC) and stable and radioactive beams obtained from the Argonne In-flight facility. The principle of this detector will be described and experimental results and comparisons with theoretical predictions will be discussed. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

An international collaboration of 140 scientists is constructing an experiment to perform the most precise measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. The muon 'g' factor is predicted to be exactly 2 by relativistic quantum mechanics. Deviations from 2 are caused by quantum fluctuations of virtual particles in the vacuum. Quantum Field Theory predicts these deviations from 2 well below the part per million level motivating our experimental goal of 0.1 parts per million precision. The cornerstone of the experiment is a 50 foot superconducting electromagnet used to store the muons that was constructed for the last Muon g-2 experiment at Brookhaven National Lab in the 90's. The ring is a marvel of engineering and it was decided to move the entire ring intact from Brookhaven to Fermilab rather than try to reproduce the masterpiece. In this talk, I will motivate the measurement, describe the experimental techniques, present the status of the new experiment, and show highlights from The Big Move that occurred last July.

I will explore several new results about nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy and their implications for Galaxy formation, the structure of stars, and the habitability of planets. First, I will discuss the discovery of very metal-poor stars in the central regions of the Galaxy, recording the earliest phases of Galaxy formation. Next, I will exploit asteroseismology to place limits on He variations in NGC 6791 and exploit the known ages for halo stars to place limits on asteroseismic scaling relations. Finally, I will discuss the amount of thorium in planet-hosting stars and why it matters for planet habitability.

Transport of charged particle beams with high intensity in terms of beam power and/or strong space-charge intensity occur in a plethora of applications ranging from high average power machines like the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at MSU, spallation neutron sources, and next-generation light sources, to high space-charge intensity machines associated with beam-driven Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) and High Energy Density Physics (HEDP) and Warm Dense Matter Physics (WDM) studies. Such applications require a high degree of beam control to minimize particle losses and preserve beam quality. This necessitates a detailed understanding of the beam distribution, machine alignment tolerances, applied fields, halo production processes, and parasitic species effects such as electron cloud formation. Strong space-charge effects also occur near injection energy on most machines and are present from the source to the target on machines designed for HIF and HEDP/WDM applications. When space-charge intensity is high, a charged particle beam behaves much as a plasma with the applied focusing forces taking the role of a neutralizing species in a plasma. Collective waves and instabilities associated with this regime have rich physics, can generate excessive halo, degrade beam quality by growing phase-space area, and result in a loss of beam control. In this seminar, first I briefly overview historical and recent activities of the combined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory group which developed machines for beam-driven HIF and HEDP applications. Extensive numerical simulation tools created in this effort are highlighted. Then I overview physics issues relating to how much space-charge can be transported in realistic periodic focusing channels without degrading the quality of the beam. The solution of a 30 year mystery on the origin of empirically known space-charge transport limits is covered. Physics clarified in this understanding enable design more reliable future machines. Resources developed associated with these studies include extensive simulation tools and graduate-level teaching materials which can be brought to MSU in support of the FRIB/NSCL facility.

Nuclear β decay has a long-standing history of shaping and testing the standard model of particle physics, and it continues to this day with elegant, ultra-precise low-energy nuclear experiments. Experiments observing the (un)polarized angular correlations between the electron, neutrino and recoil momenta following nuclear β decay can be used to search for exotic currents contributing to the dominant (V − A) structure of the weak interaction. Precision measurements of the correlation parameters to ∼ 0.1% would be sensitive to (or meaningfully constrain) new physics, complementing other searches at large-scale facilities like the LHC. This talk will discuss two avenues of research I am pursuing to investigate the fundamental symmetries of the electroweak interaction. As part of the Trinat collaboration at TRIUMF, we are utilizing neutral atom trapping techniques with optical pumping methods to highly-polarize (∼ 99%) a very cold and localized (∼ 1 mK and ∼ 1 mm3) source of short-lived 37K atoms. Locally at the Cyclotron Institute, we are nearing completion of building the Texas A&M University Penning trap (TAMUTRAP) facility, which will be the world’s largest-diameter cylindrical ion trap of radioactive nuclei. The unprecedented open-area of TAMUTRAP is ideal for 4π collection of the delayed protons following the superallowed β decays of very proton-rich nuclei. I will describe both of these “table-top” research programs and especially try to relay how they are fun, interdisciplinary approaches of answering fundamental questions about the nature of our universe.

In this presentation, Starobin will share results from Iowa survey study that used her own instrument (212 items organized with 67 questions) known as: STEM Student Success Literacy (SSSL) survey. SSSL survey measures community college students’ self-efficacy, social capital, and transfer knowledge that help students to successfully and seamlessly transfer from a community college to a four-year university in STEM fields. This study explores how institutions of higher education directly and indirectly create a learning environment that promotes the success of women and minorities. In this presentation, Starobin will focus on key factors that help traditionally underrepresented students and show the level of literacy of community college students regarding their transfer readiness for obtaining a baccalaureate degree in STEM fields. Soko S. Starobin is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Iowa State University. Starobin began her higher education in Architecture at Toyota National College of Technology in Japan. As a transfer student, she continued her education and obtained a doctorate in Higher Education from University of North Texas. Starobin joined the Office of Community College Research and Policy (OCCRP) in 2004 and appointed as Assistant Professor at Iowa State University in 2008. She is currently serving as the Director of OCCRP. Her research agenda focuses on gender issues in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields among community college students. She served as the lead-guest editor of the Special Issue on Community Colleges for the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering (volume 16, issue 1, 2010). Her research in STEM fields among community colleges and her early career accomplishments have been recognized as the 2010 recipient of the Barbara K. Townsend Emerging Scholar Award from the Council for the Study of Community College. At Iowa State University, she serves as the Internal Evaluator and evaluation team leader of the IINspire-LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) project, working with campus directors from 15 alliance institutions. Additionally, Starobin serves as PI of the evaluation team for the Iowa-Advanced Manufacturing (I-AM) Consortium comprised by all 15 community colleges in the state, funded by the Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program.

Over the last 15 years, the undergraduate physics curriculum at CU Boulder has evolved from nearly 100% traditional chalk-and-talk lecture format (in 1996) to less than 20% traditional lecture today, with more than 80% of our classes now using clickers and other forms of interactive engagement. This transformation has spread widely to other departments on the Colorado campus, and today, ALL of the undergraduate students and many grad students on the CU campus now own and use clickers. This transformation began with the big freshmen physics classes but now includes most of the upper-division physics classes. Student satisfaction and learning gains have increased significantly, the number of physics majors has tripled, and the Physics Department is now ranked #1 in both research and teaching in the College of Arts and Sciences at CU. It has been a surprisingly smooth process. Success was due to strong support from the top (administrators and some highly-visible Nobel Prize winners), hard work from the bottom (the Physics Education Research Group), and buy-in from the middle (the occasionally suspicious faculty). I will describe the scholarly and diplomatic role of the Physics Education Research group in this process and the occasional bumps in the road.

The part of ALPI upgrading program, based on the substitution of the superconducting layer of Pb with sputtered Nb in the medium β accelerating cavities(44 cavities, 11 cryomodules) and high β Nb sputtered cavities production(8 cavities, 2 cryomodules), was completed. The average operational accelerating field reached 4.7 MV/m in medium β cavities and 6.1 MV/m in high β ones. At present Nb/Cu cavities provide more than 45MV to ALPI accelerating voltage. The technology overview, cavity production, laboratory test, cryomodule assembling, installation and online test and conditioning procedures will be presented. The new capacitive coupler and cryogenic rf lines design will be discussed. A special attention will be given to the LLRF test systems hardware and software development.

This is an overview talk on future research and current development of nuclear physics and nuclear material in Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The talk will focus on scientific motivation and development of two significant projects in CAS, one is HIAF (High Intensity heavy Ion Accelerator Facility) project and the other one is ADS (Accelerator Drive Subcritical reactor System) project

For ADS to burn MA, the Coolants of Liquid Heavy Metal and Gas have been studied for many years. Lots of designs of ADS have been proposed based on the coolants, such as Lead/LBE and He, where the fast neutron spectrum is necessary. The tens of MW spallation targets for ADS is not an easy task, in the operation spallation targets, the SNS’s total heat power is 1.4MW. In Chinese ADS research, the granular flow is introduce into ADS, the Thermal Properties, Chemical Properties and etc of granular flow have been studied. A granular target and the granular cooling reactor can be coupled as the ADS. The ADS has large thermal inertia, low chemical and radio toxic, low pressure and etc. In summary, the system have chance to avoid the weak points of gas cooling fast system and keep the strong points.

Beta-delayed neutron (bn) emitters play an important, two-fold role in the stellar nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in the "rapid neutron-capture process" (r process). On one hand they lead to a detour of the material beta-decaying back to stability. On the other hand, the released neutrons increase the neutron-to-seed ratio and are re-captured during the freeze-out phase and thus influence the final solar r-abundance curve. A large fraction of the isotopes for r-process nucleosynthesis are not yet experimentally accessible and are located in the "terra incognita". With the next generation of fragmentation and ISOL facilities presently being built the main motivation of all projects is the investigation of very neutron-rich isotopes. However, reaching more neutron-rich isotopes means also that multiple neutron-emission becomes the dominant decay mechanism. Presently, various experimental campaigns are in progress (e.g. TRIUMF, Canada) or being planned in the near future (BRIKEN, Japan). In parallel to these activities, the International Atomic Energy Agengy (IAEA) has approved a Coordinated Research Project over four years about "Beta-Delayed Neutron Emission Evaluation" to create a solid basis for the vast amount of new neutron-rich isotopes being discovered with the new generation of RIB-facilities in the next decades.

Understanding electromagnetic field distribution plays a key role in a range of devices; from photonic circuits to packaging to metamaterials to antennas to EMC/EMI issues, etc. While this list is long, the ability to simulate electromagnetic fields in realistic devices requires the discretization to span multiple scales; from 10−5λ ≤ h ≤ 0.1λ. Such wide variation in mesh density implies that any methodology should (i) be mesh-robust, highly adaptable and well conditioned, and (ii) be integrated with a methodology whose computational cost and memory complexity scale almost linearly with the number of the unknowns. This talk will present some of our work to date on addressing these two problems. We will present recent work based on a highly flexible surface approximation scheme that can start from an arbitrary description of the underlying scatterer, enabling a framework that provides for near-complete freedom in choice of the approximation space. Next, we will focus on both recent and not-so recent efforts to bridge the transitions in the electromagnetic spectrum, from RF to DC and RF to optics. Examples illustrating the efficacy of these methods and their application to a range of problems will be presented.

Pairing rotations and vibrations are collective modes associated with a field, the pairing field, which changes the number of particles by two. Consequently, they can be studied at profit with the help of two-particle transfer reactions in superfluid and in normal nuclei, respectively. An introduction to the 2-step DWBA reaction formalism used to perform the theoretical analysis of two-particle transfer reactions (which include, aside from the simultaneous term, the successive and non-orthogonality contributions to the process) will be presented. We will stress the relationship between the structure aspects associated with pairing correlations and the corresponding reaction observables.

The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) is the subject of large international effort, with hopes of discovering physics beyond the standard model. One candidate for the observation of 0νββ, the decay of 76Ge to 76Se, is the focus of two major collaborative experiments. In these experiments, the signature of 0νββ would appear as a sharp peak in the energy spectrum at 2039 keV. Due to the high sensitivity of such a measurement, knowledge of background γ rays is critical. One such concern is the 2040.70(25)-keV γ ray from the 3951.70(14)-keV level in 76Ge, found in a study of 76Ga β− decay. This state could be populated via cosmic-ray-induced inelastic neutron scattering in the large experiments searching for the 2039-keV signature of 0νββ. The neutron-induced cross section of this state then becomes an excellent candidate for study using inelastic neutron scattering at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory (UKAL). If evidence of 0νββ is indeed found, extracting the absolute mass scale of neutrinos requires that the nuclear matrix elements involved in the calculation are understood to a high degree of accuracy. In order for this accuracy to be achieved, precise knowledge of the levels involved, especially those of the daughter, 76Se, is required. In addition to their implications for 0νββ, 76Ge and 76Se also exhibit interesting nuclear structure such as mixed-symmetry states and shape coexistence in this mass region. In an effort to address the above questions, excitation function and γ-ray angular distribution measurements utilizing the 76Ge(n, n’γ) and 76Se(n, n’ γ) reactions were performed at UKAL. As a result of analysis of these measurements, I will present information on level spins and parities, level lifetimes using the Doppler-shift attenuation method, transition multipolarities, and transition probabilities. Additionally, from the higher energy excitation functions, I have obtained values for the neutron-induced cross sections of the transitions from the 3951.70(14)-keV level in 76Ge. This material is based upon work that is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under grant no. PHY-0956310 and PHY-1305801.

Precision measurements in nuclear beta decay provide a sensitive window to determine fundamental parameters of the standard electroweak model and enable searches for new physics in processes involving the lightest quarks. The main aim of such measurements is to find deviations from standard model predictions for unambiguously calculated quantities as possible indications of new physics. In this presentation I will discuss the sensitivity of correlation parameters in nuclear beta decay which are linear in the so-called exotic (scalar and tensor) couplings and describe an experiment which was carried out at NSCL in order to explore new alternative techniques for their measurements.