The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) posted a highlight titled “Experiment reveals competing nuclear shapes in the rare isotope chromium-62” about how successfully modeling chromium-62 hints at an interesting structure for neutron-laden calcium-60. Authors of the publication include scientists from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. Each year, scientists publish thousands of research findings in the scientific literature. About 200 of these are selected annually by their respective program areas in DOE-SC as publication highlights of special note.
City Pulse highlights the MSU Science Festival’s STEAM Expo Weekend, which took place 5-6 April 2025. FRIB had a presence at the expo, recreating the nuclei of stars and duplicating their reactions through hands-on activities.
The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Science has approved $49.7 million for MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. MSU will use the funds to build one of the two parts needed for the planned High-Rigidity Spectrometer (HRS), which will significantly expand its ability to conduct research.
One of the nation's premier research facilities located at Michigan State University is getting a multi-million dollar upgrade. Late last month, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science approved $48.5 million for MSU's Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE-SC) has recently approved funding for a significant addition to the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University. The department allocated $49.7 million to start the execution of a new instrument, the High-Transmission Beam Line (HTBL), an integral part of the High Rigidity Spectrometer (HRS). This new development marks another step in DOE-SC’s ongoing investment in FRIB, which has received more than $1.5 billion since 2012.
Scientists—including researchers from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams—measured the energy width of a lithium-7 nucleus in beryllium-7 decay, setting a lower limit on the spatial extent of neutrino wavepackets. The findings provide insights into neutrino properties and weak nuclear decays.
Students passionate about the evolving space market had an unparalleled opportunity to collaborate with leading engineers from Texas Instruments (TI) and engineers and physicists from Michigan State University (MSU) at the inaugural Single Event Effects (SEE) Radiation Testing Boot Camp. TI sponsored the event in partnership with the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at MSU and the MSU Space Electronics Initiative.
A team of scientists, including researchers from FRIB, published a paper in Communications Physics regarding obtaining an accurate description of low-density nuclear matter, which is crucial for explaining the physics of neutron star crusts. The team introduced a variational Monte Carlo method based on a neural Pfaffian-Jastrow quantum state, which allowed them to model the transition from the liquid phase to neutron-rich nuclei microscopically.
In an article about Germanium detectors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory highlights James “Mitch” Allmond, a research scientist at Oak Ride National Laboratory, who studies low-energy nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics. At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University, Allmond manages the ongoing FRIB Decay Station initiator (FDSi) project.
A team of researchers, including scientists from FRIB, has achieved a breakthrough in understanding the elusive nature of neutrinos—one of the universe’s most mysterious particles. Their findings, published in the journal Nature's 13 February 2025 issue, provide the first direct experimental constraints on the spatial extent, or "quantum size," of a neutrino using a novel precision measurement technique.
In a recent Nature article, scientists—including researchers from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams—measured the energy width of a lithium-7 nucleus in beryllium-7 decay, setting a lower limit on the spatial extent of neutrino wavepackets. The findings provide insights into neutrino properties and weak nuclear decays.
Recent experimental discoveries are reshaping how scientists view atomic nuclei. Traditionally, nuclei have been classified as either stable or unstable, but this binary distinction overlooks the wide range of nuclear lifetimes, from fleeting moments to times far exceeding the age of the universe. Witek Nazarewicz, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Physics and chief scientist at FRIB, and Lee Sobotka, professor of chemistry and physics at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote an article about the discoveries for Physics Today.
