FRIB Research Area
Experiments at FRIB enable discoveries
FRIB Experimental Nuclear Physics addresses all FRIB research themes by combining FRIB’s rare-isotope beams with state-of-the-art instrumentation, including lasers and precision traps, advanced gamma-ray spectrometers, a variety of particle detection systems, time projection chambers, and magnetic spectrometers and separators. Experiments at FRIB characterize the ground- and excited-state properties of rare isotopes not available elsewhere and explore their reactions and decays, often with implications for the understanding of the nucleosynthesis in the universe, physics beyond the standard model of particle physics, or their national benefit. FRIB Experimental Nuclear Physics is interdisciplinary and thrives through synergies arising from nuclear physicists, nuclear chemists, and atomic physicists joining forces in the common pursuit of discovery in nuclear science.
Nuclear structure explores how protons and neutrons bind to form atomic nuclei, complex sub-atomic systems governed by quantum mechanics.
Nuclear astrophysics is a field that bridges nuclear science and astronomy, addressing fundamental questions about the universe, such as how chemical elements are formed and how their abundances change over time.
Nuclear and particle physicists study the fundamental symmetries and interactions of matter to understand the most basic building blocks of the universe and how they fit together.
Nuclear science has driven significant advancements in fields like medicine, national security, energy, materials, and more.
Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science selects approximately 200 standout publications—including those featuring FRIB research—as highlights, showcasing the nation’s most impactful scientific discoveries.
Successfully modeling chromium-62 hints at an interesting structure for neutron-laden calcium-60.
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams enables a high-precision mass measurement at the edge of the nuclear chart.
New nuclear physics measurements shed light on the synthesis of heavy elements in stars.
Pushing boundaries with radioactive molecules for future studies of nuclear structure and fundamental symmetry.
A newly discovered excited state in radioactive sodium-32 has an unusually long lifetime, and its shape dynamics could be the cause.
Researchers expand the quantum mechanical descriptions of nuclear fusion reactions.
The discovery of new isotopes demonstrates the user facility’s discovery potential.
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Joined the laboratory in 2010
Joined the laboratory in 2023
Joined the laboratory in 2009
Joined the laboratory in 1999
Joined the laboratory in 1985
Joined the laboratory in 2014
Joined the laboratory in 2007
Joined the laboratory in 2001
Joined the laboratory in 1980
Joined the laboratory in 2011
Joined the laboratory in 2023
Joined the laboratory in 2003
Publications
Extreme shape coexistence observed in 70CoC. Dembski et al., Communications Physics 8, 77 (2025). | Machine learning enabled measurements of astrophysical (𝑝,𝑛) reactions with the SECAR recoil separatorP. Tsintari et al., Phys. Rev. Research 7, 013074 (2025). | Surprising Charge-Radius Kink in the Sc Isotopes at N=20K. König et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 102501 (2023). |
𝛽+ Gamow-Teller Strengths from Unstable 14O via the (𝑑, 2He) Reaction in Inverse KinematicsS. Giraud et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 232301 (2023). | Dissipative Reactions with Intermediate-Energy Beams: A Novel Approach to Populate Complex-Structure States in Rare IsotopesA. Gade et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 242501 (2022). | Precision mass measurement of lightweight self-conjugate nucleus 80ZrA. Hamaker et al., Nature Physics 17, 1408 (2021). |
