Exotic nuclides can function as unique tools to get an insight into formation of chemical elements in our universe . One of the main processes responsible for the formation of chemical elements heavier than iron is the rapid-neutron capture-process (r process). Many of the nuclei involved in the r-process lie in the “terra incognita of the nuclear landscape”. In this region, we lack the experimental data to test and verify our models of nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics. But how can we produce and separate those radioactive nuclei of interest? We will explore reactions between heavy ion projectiles with heavy target nuclei around the Coulomb barrier to increase production of r-process nuclides, to enable future nuclear structure studies.
Besides the interest from a fundamental research, radioactive nuclides are widely used in medicine for the diagnosis and therapy of cancer. While certain isotopes are well-established and widely available, the availability of novel medical isotopes, with improved characteristics, is limited. Further investigations to boost their production are needed. Therefore, we will transfer knowledge between the nuclear physics community and the nuclear medicine community in the Netherlands. We will explore how we can exploit our knowledge on nuclear reactions for medical isotope research.
