Measuring the shape of proton-emitting nuclei with laser spectroscopy

by Kara Marie Lynch (University of Manchester (GB))

Friday 24 Nov 2023, 13:00 → 14:00 Europe/London

Niels Bohr Seminar Room (Schuster)

NOTE: In Conference Room A+B, second floor of Schuster!

At the edges of the nuclear landscape, a rare form of radioactive decay occurs where the nucleus emits a proton. But what is the shape of the nucleus in the moments before it emits a proton? And how does the shape of the nucleus change when the proton becomes unbound? We hope to answer these questions by studying proton-emitting nuclei with laser spectroscopy. 

 

Laser spectroscopy measures the hyperfine structure of atoms, an atomic fingerprint that allows nuclear properties (e.g. spin, electromagnetic moments and charge radii) to be measured. For example, the charge radius tells us about the proton distribution in the nucleus i.e. its shape. By measuring nuclei across the proton-drip line (beyond which proton decay occurs), we hope to gain a unique insight into how a single proton can influence the behaviour of the whole nucleus. 

 

In this talk, I will introduce the concept of proton emission from a nucleus, describe how laser spectroscopy can measure fundamental nuclear properties and outline my plans for measuring the shape of proton-emitting nuclei for the first time.