Young Investigators Group
Below are given basic information concerning two young investigators group enbaded in the division. For more details, please contact corresponding team leader.
EMMI Young Investigators Group Neutron Matter
The EMMI fellow young investigator group in neutron matter focuses on the investigation of collective excitations in atomic nuclei. The occurrence of collective phenomena is a common feature in various types of strongly interacting many-particle quantum systems. The inherent interaction within these systems can lead to a coherent movement of the constituents resulting in a collective behavior of the whole system. The experimental investigation of these excitation modes is therefore an important tool to reveal information on quantum systems in general and in the field of nuclear physics in particular.
The research within the group focuses on the type of electric dipole (E1) resonances in atomic nuclei, which are connected to the isovector parts of the interactions between protons and neutrons. Especially the low-energy part, usually denoted as Pygmy Dipole Resonance (PDR), is sensitive to the details of the underlying forces and, therefore, studies of this type of resonances provide stringent tests for modern microscopic model calculations. In order to investigate the nature of this low-lying E1 strength complementary experiments using different techniques are performed in order to appose model calculations to various observables. A main focus of the experimental activities in the group makes use if the R3B-LAND setup at GSI, which offers unique possibilities to study the collective properties of very neutron rich nuclei far from stability using the technique of in inverse kinematics. Besides the group is also involved in experiments at other facilities such as RIKEN/Japan and HIGS/USA.
Team leader: Dr. Deniz Savran
Status: finalized
HGF Young Investigators Group PIANO
The Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group "PIANO" (Proton-Induced Reactions for Astrophysical NucleOsynthesis) will be focused on establishing a program for accurate measurements of key nuclear reactions in the fields of stellar and explosive nucleosynthesis. Since the nuclear-physics part of the problem is still far from being fully understood, the program will concentrate on the necessary improvements for characterizing the production processes of the elements to the point where the respective abundance patterns can be interpreted as diagnostic tools for the deep stellar interior. The program covers pioneering work related to explosive nucleosynthesis in Supernovae and to stellar decay rates important to nucleosynthesis in Red Giant stars.
Both aspects will be investigated using proton induced reactions and will make use of the existing and future experimental facilities of the HGF centre GSI Darmstadt, which are unique for the determination of reaction rates in the yet unexplored region of unstable nuclei defining the reaction networks far from stability. The astrophysical information accessible with the experimental results will be analyzed in collaboration with leading institutes in stellar modeling and astronomical observations.
Team leader: Prof. Dr. Rene Reifart
Status: finalized