Precision Measurements to Test the Standard Model and for Explosive Nuclear Astrophysics

ISBN-13: 9783030307806 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 102 str.

Adrian A. Valverde

Spis treści

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Half-life Measurement of 11C for Testing the Standard Model.- Chapter 3. The LEBIT Facility and Penning Traps.- Chapter 4. Mass Measurement of 56Cu for the Astrophysical rp Process.- Chapter 5. A Cooler-Buncher for the N = 126 Factory.- Chapter 6. Summary and Outlook.

O autorze

Adrian Valverde is a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory. He received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 2018.

Blurb

This thesis presents two significant results in the field of precision measurements in low-energy nuclear physics. Firstly, it presents a precise half-life determination of ¹¹C, leading to the most precise ft-value for a beta decay transition between mirror nuclides, an important advance in the testing of the electroweak sector of the Standard Model. Secondly, it describes a high-precision mass measurement of 56Cu, a critical nucleus for determining the path of the astrophysical rapid-proton capture process, performed by the author using the LEBIT Penning trap at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. This new measurement resolves discrepancies in previously-reported calculated mass excesses. In addition, the thesis also presents the construction and testing of a radio-frequency quadrupole cooler and buncher that will be part of the future N = 126 factory at Argonne National Laboratory aimed at producing nuclei of interest for the astrophysical rapid-neutron capture process for the first time.