Hironori Iwasaki

Professor of Physics

About

Education and training

  • MS, Physics, University of Tokyo, 1998
  • PhD, Physics, University of Tokyo, 2001

Research

My research focuses on the investigation of the structure
and dynamics of rare isotopes which have unusual protonto-
neutron ratios compared to stable nuclei that exist
in nature. These exotic nuclei, which can be produced
at Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), often exhibit
surprising phenomena such as nuclear halo characterized
by valence neutrons with spatially extended wave
functions and shape coexistence with competing nuclear
shapes manifested in a single nuclear level. We provide
precise and accurate nuclear data from lifetime and
spectroscopy experiments and, through comparisons to
advanced theory, we try to understand the forces that
bind nucleons into nuclei, test the symmetry in atomic
nuclei, answer questions concerning the astrophysical
origin of nuclear matter, and address societal needs
related to nuclear science. In our experiments, we utilize
the combination of the state-of-the-art equipment,
including GRETINA, TRIPLEX, and S800 spectrograph,
to achieve model-independent measurements of excited-state
lifetimes.

Biography

Before joining in MSU in 2009, I worked at various places
in the world; University of Tokyo in Japan, IPN Orsay in
France, and University of Cologne in Germany. All these
places have accelerator-based facilities on campus,
realizing the ideal combination of academic and research
environment for scientists and students. In my research
activities, I always like to work with early-career scientists
(students and postdocs) because I can learn new ideas
and views of science by interacting with them. At MSU,
FRIB is providing world-class research and training
opportunities, and I am looking forward to working with
future scientists.

How students can contribute as part of my research team

In my research group, graduate students 1) develop new
experimental setup and techniques in spectroscopy and
lifetime measurements using relativistic or reaccelerated
rare isotopes beams and 2) analyze data and interpret
physics results from experiments. Students also work on
hands-on projects to operate and improve the TRIPLEX
device which is used for lifetime measurements based on
Doppler-shift techniques. New detector projects developing
radiation-hard diamond detectors and associated data
acquisition system are underway. Depending on interest,
students also participate in summer projects at various
national laboratories to prepare for their future careers.

Scientific publications