Research Projects

Super heavy elements (SHEs) mark the boundary of the existence of atomic nuclei and are the heaviest natural elements found on earth. These elements are believed to be existing due to the microscopic stabilization of quantum shell effects. Though element Uranium (atomic number Z =92) was discovered in 1789, it took more than 230 years to extend the periodic table to the currently known heaviest element Oganesson (Z=118). This is mainly due to a process called quasifission that hinders SHE production. Synthesis of SHEs and study of their properties are major research areas in world’s largest accelerator facilities. Though we have three major accelerator facilities in India, we couldn’t contribute significantly to SHE studies till date. Due to the very low production cross sections, direct production and measurements of SHEs are not practically possible. An alternative method is to measure the characteristics of quasifission. One of the major challenges here is the lack of large area positions sensitive detectors that can be used for the measurements of mass and angular distributions of fast quasifission. Currently Australian National University, Australia and JINR Russia are having specialized large area detectors for SHE and quasifission studies. We propose the indigenous development of large area detectors. The detectors will be fabricated using expertise and materials in India, adhering to the Make in India policy. We also propose to design and develop the pre-amplifiers, amplifiers and other electronic modules for th accelerator physics research. This would increase our domestic capability for international cooperation and lessen our reliance on foreign laboratories for Nuclear Physics research. Current proposal has two major parts. First part is the development of large area MWPC with active area 38 cm x 18 cm (or bigger) and the associated electronics. Fast pre-amplifiers and amplifiers needed for these detectors will be developed in-house. These low power pre-amplifiers do not produce significant heat and can be used inside the vacuum chamber during the measurements. The detectors will be tested off-line using standard radio-active sources and on-line using the heavy ion beams for optimizing the design parameters. Second part of the proposal is to perform cutting edge experiments using the detectors developed. We propose to measure the quasifission cross sections for a few reactions populating heavy elements using the accelerator facilities at IUAC. This will be the first measurement of this kind in the world. While fission fragments follow an exponential mass evolution, fast quasifission do not seem to follow the same. We aim to populate the same composite nucleus via different entrance channels at similar excitation energies, and different angular momenta in the measurements. This would enable us to explore the time scale and mass evolution of fast quasifission. Fusion experiments of 48,50Ti beams with 194,196,198Pt targets will be conducted to populate the isotopes of Fermium nucleus, using the accelerator facilities at IUAC. Kinematic re-construction method will be used for the analysis. The mass-angle distribution obtained will be simulated to extract the time-scales. The angular distribution of the fast quasifission fragments will be used for the total cross sections. With the availability high quality heavy ion beams from three major accelerator facilities in the country (IUAC, TIFR, VECC), and also with the recent introduction of high current injector facilities at IUAC, India must be able to significantly contribute to SHE synthesis in the coming years. SHE research drives development of high sensitivity detectors and fast data acquisition system. SHE products are expected to be useful in targeted radio-therapy and development of micro-power sources. Above all, SHE research typically involves large international collaborations. A contribution to this area of research is a national and institutional pride!