Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Research Tools and Instruments

Funds are requested for a significant enhancement of capability for nuclear decay and fission spectroscopy at the Nuclear Science Laboratory (NSL) at Simon Fraser University (SFU). The proposed investment will serve a program of research aiming to improve quantitative understanding of interactions between nucleons inside atomic nuclei. These interactions determine the stability of nuclei and, consequently, matter as we know it. For unstable nuclei, these interactions determine their properties including decay modes and rates as well as the dynamics of the fission process for the heaviest nuclei. The proposed investments are general purpose and can enable multiple research streams in basic and applied nuclear science including studies of: (i) structure of double-beta decay candidates through beta-gamma decay spectroscopy, (ii) structure of neutron-rich isotopes through spontaneous fission, or (iii) novel methods of separation of radioisotopes produced via irradiations by neutrons delivered by the deuterium/tritium generator at the NSL. To sustain the ongoing research and to enable further developments at the NSL, proposed investments are both urgent and necessary. The nuclear science program at SFU has grown significantly over the past decade. Currently it supports three faculty members, an equivalent number of Postdoctoral Fellows, and more than two dozens of graduate and undergraduate students. Multiple projects in the program are interdisciplinary and involve collaborative research between physics, chemistry, engineering, medical, and environmental sciences. Research of the faculty and training of Highly Qualified Personnel at the NSL depends critically on the equipment asked for in the current application. Specifically, it is proposed to acquire through the SFU Science Technical Centre infrastructure allowing simultaneous operation of multiple detection systems already available at the NSL. Due to the existing shortage of mechanical and cryogenic support, experiments at the NSL are limited to operation of a small number (up to four) Compton-Suppressed Spectrometer (CSS) gamma-ray detectors while the data acquisition or other control systems at hand allow integration of up to 20 CSS with charged-particle detectors into a spectrometer capable of performing alpha-, beta-, and gamma-ray decay measurements simultaneously with significantly enhanced sensitivity. The current proposal seeks investments into crucial missing components of systems which are in part developed but can not be operated up to their full capacity, while the proposed expenditure is relatively small in comparison to the cost of acquisition of a new nuclear decay spectrometer. Access to nuclear decay spectrometers will position the NSL at the forefront of research in low energy nuclear physics, enable a competitive program to be operated locally, and significantly enhance nuclear science training of graduate and undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science at SFU.