The Split-pole Spectrograph at the Notre Dame Nuclear Science Lab
Scott Carmichael
PhD Candidate, Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of Notre Dame
To better understand elemental production mechanisms in astrophysical environments, precise nuclear reaction rates are needed. Many reaction rates of astrophysical interest are dominated by narrow resonances. For such reactions, the rates can be indirectly determined via the narrow resonance formalism, where the rate depends exponentially on level energies and linearly on level spin and proton widths. In order to determine these nuclear structure properties and constrain important astrophysical reaction rates, an Enge split-pole spectrograph has been installed in the Notre Dame Nuclear Science Lab, and the first experiments utilizing the device are underway. Current status of the spectrograph, the detector system, and current and future research will be presented.
Hosted by Prof. Bardayan