Rare Isotope Beams (RIBs) are ion beams of exotic radioactive nuclei. The study of these nuclei is key to understanding the limits of nuclear existence, nucleo-synthesis in such violent stellar sites as supernovae and merging neutron stars, and the fundamental symmetries of nature. These nuclei also provide a unique probe to study condensed matter and many of them are potentially new radioisotopes for more effective medical diagnostics and therapy. Rare Isotope Beams: Concepts and Techniques gives an up-to-date overview of all these aspects of RIB science in a single volume containing the scientific motivation, production techniques, experimental techniques for studying exotic nuclei, methods used in condensed matter research, and medical applications. The emphasis throughout is on concepts to facilitate understanding of the essence of each topic in this diverse and cross-disciplinary field involving nuclear physics, astrophysics, and particle accelerators. A brief description of major RIB facilities is also presented. Exotic nuclei are difficult to produce in enough numbers and their production involves different nuclear reaction routes and a wide range of advanced technologies, which are presented in a comprehensive manner. Experimental techniques used to study exotic nuclei are provided with examples highlighting the intricate nature of such experiments. Another unique feature is the open-ended nature of the discussions, bringing out the future challenges and possibilities in this evolving field. The book offers an excellent overview of concepts and techniques involved in RIB science for new researchers entering the field as well as professionals.

Up from Nothing is the story of the Michigan State University Cyclotron Laboratory and its growth from the appointment of a single individual in 1958 to when the university earned the right to build the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in 2008. The cyclotron laboratory at MSU has been known for years as the best university nuclear physics laboratory in the United States, and perhaps in the world. But very few, even in its hometown of East Lansing, know how it achieved that status or why it prospered when laboratories at many other famous universities faded. In this book Austin, a nuclear physicist who has been at the laboratory since the beginning of its ascent, gives us a remarkable story. It begins with an exceptional individual, Henry Blosser, who founded the laboratory, built a cyclotron accelerator of uniquely high precision, and recruited a team of nuclear physicists that used it to establish the laboratory's reputation. Its credibility led to a sequence of accelerators, each operating in a different sub?eld while continuing a tradition of forefront science, and to a laboratory culture that fostered the courage and foresight to compete for the FRIB in the face of daunting odds.

“Science has a battle for hearts and minds on its hands….How good it feels to have Lisa Randall’s unusual blend of top flight science, clarity, and charm on our side.” —Richard Dawkins “Dazzling ideas….Read this book today to understand the science of tomorrow.” —Steven Pinker The bestselling author of Warped Passages, one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” Lisa Randall gives us an exhilarating overview of the latest ideas in physics and offers a rousing defense of the role of science in our lives. Featuring fascinating insights into our scientific future born from the author’s provocative conversations with Nate Silver, David Chang, and Scott Derrickson, Knocking on Heaven’s Door is eminently readable, one of the most important popular science books of this or any year. It is a necessary volume for all who admire the work of Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Brian Greene, Simon Singh, and Carl Sagan; for anyone curious about the workings and aims of the Large Hadron Collider, the biggest and most expensive machine ever built by mankind; for those who firmly believe in the importance of science and rational thought; and for anyone interested in how the Universe began…and how it might ultimately end.

The principal goals of the study were to articulate the scientific rationale and objectives of the field and then to take a long-term strategic view of U.S. nuclear science in the global context for setting future directions for the field. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter provides a long-term assessment of an outlook for nuclear physics. The first phase of the report articulates the scientific rationale and objectives of the field, while the second phase provides a global context for the field and its long-term priorities and proposes a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond. In the second phase of the study, also developing a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond, the committee carefully considered the balance between universities and government facilities in terms of research and workforce development and the role of international collaborations in leveraging future investments. Nuclear physics today is a diverse field, encompassing research that spans dimensions from a tiny fraction of the volume of the individual particles (neutrons and protons) in the atomic nucleus to the enormous scales of astrophysical objects in the cosmos. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter explains the research objectives, which include the desire not only to better understand the nature of matter interacting at the nuclear level, but also to describe the state of the universe that existed at the big bang. This report explains how the universe can now be studied in the most advanced colliding-beam accelerators, where strong forces are the dominant interactions, as well as the nature of neutrinos.

The TRIUMF Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility uses the isotope separation on-line (ISOL) technique to produce rare-isotope beams (RIB). The ISOL system consists of a primary production beam, a target/ion source, a mass separator, and beam transport system. The rare isotopes produced during the interaction of the proton beam with the target nucleus are stopped in the bulk of the target material. They diffuse inside the target material matrix to the surface of the grain and then effuse to the ion source where they are ionized to form an ion beam that can be separated by mass and then guided to the experimental facilities. Previously published in the journal Hyperfine Interactions.

The goal of the Workshop was to open the way for exchange of ideas between physicists working in different areas of quantum physics but studying the objects of mesoscopic nature which reveal important generic features and allow for similar approaches. Among these objects are complex nuclei, atoms and molecules, nanoscale condensed matter systems, atomic clusters, atoms in traps, prototypes of quantum computers etc. The Workshop WNMP-2004 was organized with the idea of bringing together researchers actively working on the multitude of mesoscopic problems in various areas and, through cross-fertilizing discussions, make an attempt to bridge the existing gaps, find a common language and clean the way for future collaborations. The topics of common interest included general features of mesoscopic systems; experimental, theoretical and computational methods used for their studies; coherent phenomena, such as superfluidity and superconductivity; many-body quantum chaos; marginally stable and open systems; phase transitions and thermodynamic properties (an exciting subject with contradictory opinions reflected in the Proceedings).

Dramatic progress has been made in all branches of physics since the National Research Council's 1986 decadal survey of the field. The Physics in a New Era series explores these advances and looks ahead to future goals. The series includes assessments of the major subfields and reports on several smaller subfields, and preparation has begun on an overview volume on the unity of physics, its relationships to other fields, and its contributions to national needs. Nuclear Physics is the latest volume of the series. The book describes current activity in understanding nuclear structure and symmetries, the behavior of matter at extreme densities, the role of nuclear physics in astrophysics and cosmology, and the instrumentation and facilities used by the field. It makes recommendations on the resources needed for experimental and theoretical advances in the coming decade.