Geoff Brumfiel, Grinnell College / University of Michigan / Notre DameTitle: Probing Halo Nuclei Using the TwinSolAuthors: G. Brumfiel (Grinnell College); F. Becchetti, Mu Young Lee (University of Michigan)Abstract: The TwinSol is an instrument designed to study light (i.e. Z<=10), neutron or proton rich nuclei far from the line of stability at very low energies. The TwinSol consists of two large, warm bore, super-conducting magnets each capable of fields of 6T. These magnets are designed to lens nuclei from an radioactive nuclear beam (RNB) created by a reaction between a beam from the University of Notre Dame's Tandem Van de Graff accelerator and a target foil (often light nuclei such as 9Be). The lensing effect of these two solenoids separates the product nuclei by magnetic rigidity. These nuclei can then be filtered, detected, and measured using a series of collimators, shields, position sensitive detectors, and clock timing. Because the product nuclei created in TwinSol (mainly 8Li or 9Li) are produced at such low energies (order Kev to low Mev), they may provide important information about big bang nucleosynthesis. For example, if these nuclei have higher neutron capture cross sections than previously believed, they might help to explain the abundances of light nuclei in the universe today. In addition, the investigation of such nuclei is a continuation of the effort to contribute more data to the chart of nuclides. |