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HK: Fachverband Hadronen und Kerne

HK 2: Plenary II

HK 2.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 16, 2009, 11:00–11:30, Audi-Max

Overview on Physics with radioactive ion beams (exchanged with HK 78.1) — •Zsolt Podolyak — University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

The appearance of radioactive beam facilities can be viewed as a revolution in nuclear physics, in a similar way to how stable beam accelerators revolutionised the understanding of the atomic nucleus and led to applications in many different fields of science and everyday life. The importance of this step-change is recognised world-wide and the first generation of radioactive beam facilities is already in operation. A second generation, aimed at increasing the number of accelerated radioactive species, the range of energies and the beam intensities, is now in design, planning and construction.

The radioactive ion beam facilities address and will continue to address the fundamental questions of nuclear physics, such as:

- What are the limits of nuclear existence? What is the heaviest element we can make and where does the neutron-dripline lie?

- Do new forms of collective motion occur far from the valley of nuclear stability?

- Are there new forms of nuclear matter in very loosely bound nuclear systems?

- How does the ordering of quantum states, with all of its consequent implications for nuclear structure and reactions, alter in highly dilute or neutron-rich matter?

- How are the elements and isotopes found in the Universe formed?

An overview of the physics addressed with radioactive ion beams will be presented.