This project will involve the study of nuclear reactions primarily utilizing unstable nuclei, i.e. radioactive nuclear beams (RNBs). It will also involve the development of new types of instrumentation, techniques and apparatus to facilitate these studies. The latter will include the development and utilization of special superconducting-magnet ion-optical systems together with detector systems optimized for nuclear-reaction studies involving short-lived nuclear beams such as Lithium-8, Helium-6 and metastable ions (Fluorine 18-m). Specific experiments will include studies related to nuclear astrophysics (the synthesis of elements in stars, the solar-neutrino and missing-mass problems, supernova and the Big Bang), and the special structure of very neutron-rich and proton-rich nuclei (Lithium-8, Helium-6,...). The work will involve both graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Michigan and elsewhere and faculty members from several institutions. The work will exploit the unique capabilities of the new double-solenoid RNB apparatus recently installed at the University of Notre Dame accelerator as part of a joint UM-UND project. Additional research will be done at the nearby National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University.
