Study of exotic, neutron-rich nuclei

The deadline for 2012 Doctoral College Studentships has now passed.

The Brighton Doctoral College is pleased to welcome applications from self-funded or externally sponsored students for programmes of research in this or a closely related area, beginning from September 2012. Applications are welcome from students wishing to study full time or part time, and applications are welcome from students in employment who have the support of their employers.

• Based in the Faculty of Science and Engineering
• Supervisors: Professor Alison Bruce; Dr Oliver Roberts.

Application deadline

The university cannot guarantee that students can start at their requested date unless deadlines are met.

• UK/EU students: The deadline for the university to receive applications for an entry date of October is the 1 August, for January entry it is the 1 November and for May it is the 1 March.
• International students: The deadline for the university to receive applications for an entry date of October is the 1 June, for January entry it is the 1 September and for May it is the 1 January.

Apply now.

The successful student would be part of the nuclear physics research group at the University of Brighton and would work on a project to use the techniques of beta and gamma-ray spectroscopy to study exotic, neutron-rich nuclei in the A~100 region.

The aims of the experiments are to examine the competition between different nuclear shapes which are predicted to occur in this mass region. This is a topic in which the Brighton group has an established reputation having led experiments at several overseas accelerator facilities.

Initially, the research project will focus on an experiment approved to run at the IGISOL facility at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. This experiment will measure the specific case of the structure of ¹⁰²Zr populated in the beta decay of ¹⁰²Y, produced in proton-induced fission of uranium. The student would be fully involved in the experimental work at Jyväskylä and then lead the data analysis at Brighton. Results will be compared with model calculations, also performed by the student, and there will be opportunity to present and discuss the results with members of the international nuclear physics community. It would also be expected that the student would be fully involved in the other activities of the Group, more details of which can be obtained by visiting the Group website.

Find out more about research at the University of Brighton.