Projects

A large international effort is ongoing to build the first nuclear clock [1]. The low excitation energy and expected long radiative lifetime make the first isomer in Th-229 the prime nuclear-clock candidate [2,3].The development of such a device is hindered by the experimental uncertainties on the measured nuclear properties of 229Th [3,4].My FWO project will address these knowledge gaps by performing high-precision studies of this isotope. The ...

Since its inception, the study of atomic nuclei has largely been limited to nuclei near the valley of stability. Theories and paradigms have been developed based on data from those nuclei. Now, in the last decade, through technological and theoretical advances, it has become possible to produce and study nuclei far from stability in great detail. These nuclei possess truly exotic, unforeseen properties that challenge these paradigms, the ...

This collaborative project unites the Belgian groups that are performing fundamental nuclear physics research at low energy and the most important foreign research groups/institutes with which collaborations exist. The main is to intensify this collaboration and exploit the synergies between different groups. Whereas the core topic is nuclear structure research with radioactive ion beams research topics outside the pure nuclear physics reserach ...

Recently it has been proved at the Leuven Isotope Separator On Line (LISOL) facility that laser spectroscopy inside a gas cell coupled to a mass separator provides a new way to obtain moments and charge radii of far unstable nuclei of chemical elements that are difficult to produce at standard ISOL facilities. This project aims to improve the methode in its efficiency, resolution and range of elements. Dr. Ferrer is an expert in simulating, ...