External news and journal publications discussing FRIB science.
A team of researchers, including a scientist from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, published a paper describing the major challenges in the field of the superheavy elements and speculate about future directions of the periodic table of the elements.
Scientists from Australian National University, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro in Italy, Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia, and FRIB challenged the current view of fusion and provided a framework for improved models of capture. Superheavy elements are synthesized at accelerator laboratories using nuclear fusion, where two atomic nuclei collide, stick together—or capture—and with low probability, evolve into a compact superheavy nucleus. Using collisions of calcium-40 and lead-208, the scientists observed 90 different partitions of protons and neutrons between projectile-like and target-like nuclei. The collisions experienced a mass and charge transfer between the nuclei before capture with an unexpectedly high probability and complexity. Since each collision is expected to have a different probability of fusion, it was concluded that the early stages of collisions may be crucial in superheavy element synthesis.
New research from North Carolina State University and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University opens a new avenue for modeling low-energy nuclear reactions, which are key to the formation of elements within stars. The research lays the groundwork for calculating how nucleons interact when the particles are electrically charged.
Practitioners of atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics are increasingly applying their tools to the search for physics beyond the standard model, thanks largely to advances in precision-measurement techniques. A tabletop experiment that measures nuclear recoil during beta decay to look for sterile neutrinos—hypothetical particles that interact only via gravity—has led to a follow-on, the Superconducting Array for Low-Energy Radiation. SALER, which is setting up shop at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University, expands the use of rare-isotope-doped superconductors to search for a wide range of exotic new physics
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) posted a highlight titled “The 'nested doll' nucleus nitrogen-9 stretches the definition of a nucleus to the limit” about how nitrogen-9 has only two neutrons to its seven protons and decays to an alpha particle by emitting five of its protons in stages. The experimental technique employed sequential nuclear reactions at MSU to create nitrogen-9. 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.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Fudan University in China, Western Michigan University, the University of Connecticut, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and FRIB may have just spotted the elusive, ephemeral nucleus of nitrogen-9 for the first time. With seven protons and two neutrons, the lopsided atomic nucleus of nitrogen-9 pushes the limits of what can even be considered a nucleus at all. Yet signs of its existence seem to be lurking in years-old data from experiments seeking out a different unusual nucleus, researchers report in the 27 October Physical Review Letters.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, Fudan University in China, Western Michigan University, the University of Connecticut, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and FRIB have found evidence of an extremely unstable nucleus for which more than half of the component particles are unbound, meaning that they are not tightly connected to the dense core of the nucleus. The research team had to carefully sift through a large volume of nuclear-collision data to identify the nitrogen-9 decays. This barely bound nucleus poses a unique challenge to theories of nuclear structure.
SLAC National Laboratory’s newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS-II) heralds trailblazing research capabilities that could unlock the insights needed to create carbon-neutral steel, more sustainable fertilizer, more efficient hydrogen-powered cars or the next generation of pharmaceuticals, to name a few possibilities. LCLS-II is the result of a decade-long collaboration involving more than 1,400 individuals, including those from Fermilab, Argonne, Jefferson Lab, Berkeley Lab, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams and Cornell University, according to LCLS-II Director Greg Hays. He also said the collaboration involved partners from outside the United States like Germany, Japan, Switzerland and France.
The nuclear reactions that power stellar explosions involve short-lived nuclei that are hard to study in the laboratory. To solve this challenge, researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams used a novel technique that combines an Active Target Time Projection Chamber with a magnetic spectrometer. The work has been published in Physical Review Letters.
FRIB will use the $115 million it received through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science to fund the High Rigidity Spectrometer project.
Researchers at Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams joined experts around the country as they rolled out their long-term plans for studying nuclear science. Officials say this plan is part of a bigger focus on keeping the U.S. a leader in nuclear science. The list of recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation features MSU expertise in the field.
$115 million was awarded to a project at Michigan State University’s (MSU) Facility for Rare Isotope Beams or FRIB. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, (DOE-SC), awarded the money for the High Rigidity Spectrometer project (HRS). Michigan State University said the HRS instrument will enable scientists to characterize the properties of isotopes that are created in rare-isotope reactions, which occur at half the speed of light.
