From June 6-10, 2022, the Exotic Beam Summer School (EBSS) attracted 40 graduate students and a post doc to the University of Notre Dame. This 19th edition of the school, one of the most valued in the low-energy nuclear physics community, was the first after a three year hiatus due to the pandemic. Needless to say the students who came from places across the country and internationally were excited to participate in the series of hands-on activities offered in the afternoon (a unique feature of the EBSS), the morning lectures, as well as the evening social activities.
The morning lectures at Jordan Hall of Science covered current research including nuclear astrophysics, reactions, structure, and fundamental symmetries, as well as other associated topics such as gravitational wave detection, nuclear data, neutrino physics, medical isotopes, and superheavy element research. The continued technical developments required to produce, separate, stop, trap as well as detect exotic nuclei were also discussed. The afternoon activities featured the various capabilities of the Nuclear Science Laboratory of Notre Dame including radioactive ion beam production with TriSol, particle-induced gamma ray emission using beams from the St. Andre accelerator, an energy resonance scan using the St. Ana accelerator, novel actinide target making and testing techniques, gamma ray detection and the production of cooled ion bunches using a radio frequency quadrupole ion trap. Students also got to explore Compton scattering as well as performing state-of-the-art nucleosynthesis and R-matrix calculations, and experience the Digital Visualization Theater.
EBSS 2022 was organized by Profs. Maxime Brodeur (chair), Dan Bardayan, Graham Peaslee and administrator Janet Weikel. The committee is appreciative of the support of the EBSS board of directors and from the Nuclear Science Laboratory personnel as a whole, especially from its graduate students.
The EBSS series is sponsored by the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the following laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University, and the Association for Research at University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA). EBSS2022 was also sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and College of Science as well as the Institute for Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics (ISNAP).
Originally published by at isnap.nd.edu on June 16, 2022.