This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Experiments with rare isotope beams are critical for advancing our understanding of the nuclear force and nuclear structure. Improved knowledge of nuclei will allow questions concerning the nature of neutron stars and dense nuclear matter, the origin of the elements in the cosmos, and the nuclear reactions that drive stars and stellar explosions to be addressed. Studies in the unexplored domain of extreme neutron and proton rich nuclei will provide access to the limits of nuclear stability and allow theoretical models of nuclear structure to be rigorously tested. Scientific measurements made with rare isotope beams contend with two limiting factors: low beam intensities and low cross sections for the processes of interest. For this reason, the development of detection systems that combine the characteristics of high efficiency and large geometrical acceptance are essential.
The Active Target Time Projection Chamber (AT-TPC), which combines time projection and active target functionality in a single device, will allow measurements to be made of rare and low energy nuclear processes. The AT-TPC will detect the products of reactions induced by rare isotope beams allowing investigations of fusion, isobaric analog states, cluster structure of light nuclei, transfer reactions, fission, giant resonances and the density dependence of the nuclear equation of state. The development and construction of the AT-TPC is a collaborative effort between researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Michigan State University, Notre Dame University, St. Mary's University (Canada) and Western Michigan University. The AT-TPC will be operated as a user device at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and the future Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. Graduate and undergraduate students will play an integral role in the development and utilization of this unique device.
