Projects
Investigating the evolution of nuclear structure beyond N=50 by combined high-resolution laser spectroscopy and decay spectroscopy of radioactive zinc with the CRIS experiment at CERN KU Leuven
Laser spectroscopy of radioactive molecules for future searches of new physics KU Leuven
The systematic study of the properties of atomic nuclei with extreme numbers of protons and neutrons has been the focus of nuclear physics for decades. In typical low-energy nuclear physics experiments, the relevant nuclear structure observables are extracted with high precision from the measured energy levels of the atomic system. Recently, the laser-spectroscopic study of radioactive molecules, instead of atoms, that contain the nucleus of ...
Laser Spectroscopy of Actinides: Octupole Deformation and Gas-Jet Characterization KU Leuven
Elise Verstraelen her PhD thesis reports on a laser spectroscopy study in the actinide region and covers three main topics. Firstly, the results on in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy of the neutron-rich actinium isotopes 225-229Ac are detailed. These measurements were performed at the TRIUMF ISAC facility in Vancouver and resulted in new data on the changes in mean-square charge radii and the magnetic dipole moments of isotopes ...
Development and characterisation of the S3-Low Energy Branch for laser spectroscopy studies of exotic nuclei KU Leuven
In this thesis work the development and characterisation of the Super Separator Spectrometer (S³) Low Energy Branch (S³-LEB) is discussed. This new installation will allow the study of neutron-deficient medium-heavy and heavy isotopes using laser, mass and decay spectroscopy techniques. Such studies will be possible thanks to the high energy and intensity heavy-ion primary beam from the GANIL-SPIRAL2 facility. In this work the full S³-LEB ...
Characterization of the spectral resolution of the in-gas-jet laser ionization spectroscopy method KU Leuven
Laser spectroscopy studies, which are complementary to nuclear spectroscopy in the actinides and superheavy elements (SHE) region, give access to nuclear ground- and isomeric-state properties, such as mean-square charge radii, magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments and spins. The information on these observables is essential to validate nuclear models and to increase their predictive power. However, the efficient separation and study ...
Laser ionization spectroscopy of 254No and 229Th in hypersonic gas jets KU Leuven
Short half-lives, low production rates and the need to produce them by fusion-evaporation reactions all complicate laser spectroscopy studies of (trans)actinides. The In-Gas Laser Ionization and Spectroscopy (IGLIS) technique has been succesfully employed in studies on short-lived actinides (see for instance [1,2]). The addition of a convergent-divergent (de Laval) nozzle to create a cold hypersonic gas jet combines efficiency with sub-GHz ...
In-gas-jet laser ionization and spectroscopy of 229Th+ KU Leuven
This research will play an important role in the investigation of fundamental physical aspects of the universe, such as the time variance of fundamental physical constants, and serve as the foundation for the ongoing development of a new generation of optical clocks, which will for the first time utilize a transition in the nucleus. The work will consist of three main steps: the development of an efficient ionization scheme for Th+, the ...
A novel laser spectroscopy apparatus for nuclear structure research at ISOL@MYRRHA KU Leuven
A laser spectroscopy study of the low lying isomer, 229mTh KU Leuven
The low-lying isomer in the Th-229 isotope has eluded physicists for the past decades and received a boost when its existence was proven in 2016. Its low excitation energy around 8 eV presents the only candidate in the entire known nuclear landscape where transportation of laser spectroscopy techniques from the atomic domain to the nuclear one becomes possible. In case this is successful, it opens the door for the development of the first ...