EXOTIC NUCLEI Structure & Approaches

Exotic nuclei—those far from the valley of nuclear stability—represent one of the most active frontiers of contemporary nuclear science. This review has shown that advances in production techniques (fragmentation and ISOL), state-of-the-art experimental apparatuses (R3B at FAIR), and theoretical frameworks (DRHB model, ab initio many-body theory, chiral effective field theory) are collectively extending the boundaries of what can be measured and understood. The four principal structural characteristics—weakly-bound nature, large spatial extension (halo structure), shell evolution, and clustering effects—challenge conventional nuclear models and demand new theoretical approaches of unprecedented precision. Applications in astrophysical nucleosynthesis, nuclear medicine, and materials science confirm that fundamental research on exotic nuclei has broad and growing societal relevance. Future experimental programmes at next-generation facilities promise to push the boundaries of the nuclear chart further, revealing new phenomena and deepening our understanding of strongly interacting quantum matter.

[1] T. Nilsson, "Exotic Nuclei – Production and Experimental Approaches," Proceedings of the International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC 2016), Adelaide, Australia, 2016. [2] J. Meng, "Exotic Nuclei: Structure and Characteristics," Proceedings of the International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC 2016), Adelaide, Australia, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2016. [3] NUSTAR Collaboration, "Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics Research at FAIR," FAIR Project Report, Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany, 2015. [4] F. M. Nunes, "Probing the Limits of Nuclear Stability," Physics Today, vol. 67, no. 9, pp. 33–37, 2014. [5] D. Steppenbeck et al., "Evidence for a New Nuclear 'Magic Number' from the Level Structure of 54Ca," Nature, vol. 502, pp. 207–210, 2013. [6] N. Itagaki et al., "Cluster Decay from 12Be and Clustering Effects in Light Exotic Nuclei," Physical Review C, vol. 62, no. 3, 034301, 2000. [7] J. Duflo and A. P. Zuker, "Shell Model Mass Formula for Light Exotic Nuclei," Physical Review C, vol. 52, no. 1, R23–R27, 1995. [8] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "Nuclear Medicine Resources Manual," Vienna, IAEA, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.iaea.org [9] GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, "R3B Experiment Documentation," Darmstadt, Germany, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.gsi.de/r3b [10] ISOLDE Collaboration, CERN, "Physics at ISOLDE," Geneva, Switzerland. [Online]. Available: https://www.isolde.cern