Radioactive ion beam physics at the cyclotron research centre Louvain-la-Neuve

摘要

The first beam of post-accelerated radioactive ions was realized in 1989 at the Louvain-la-Neuve research facility. The method employed two coupled cyclotrons to produce, separate and re-accelerate the species of interest. Several technological challenges were solved in the process to obtain pure and intense beams for the use in nuclear physics research. Similarly, new techniques were developed and refined for the measurement of the nuclear reactions induced by the radioactive beams. The available energy range made the facility particularly suited for nuclear astrophysics studies, and important results were obtained in the determination of stellar reaction rates using beams of ~7Be, ~(13)N, ~(18)F and ~(18,19)Ne. A beam of ~6He ions was extensively used in studies of the nuclear structure (halos, molecular states) and dynamics (the reaction process at energies around the potential barrier).