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The study of nuclei far from stability elucidates the evolution of nuclear shell structure, and also affects estimates of heavy element nucleosynthesis in supernova explosions. Measurement of transfer reactions in inverse kinematics with radioactive ion beams is a powerful technique for these types of studies. Rare isotope beams often have relatively low intensities, and this places difficult requirements on the detection systems for reaction products. The detectors must provide large solid angle coverage in the laboratory along with good position and energy resolution. The Super ORRUBA detector array has been developed for such measurements and is comprised of 18 double-sided, nonresistive silicon strip detectors. This configuration features low thresholds and improved resolution over detectors employing charge division. As a first implementation of this system, the 80Ge(d,p)81Ge neutron transfer reaction in inverse kinematics was measured at HRIBF at ORNL, to determine the properties of levels in 81Ge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 14O(α,p)17F reaction is important for understanding the αp process that occurs in X-ray bursts, but the rate of this reaction remains uncertain due to the uncertain properties of states in 18Ne. We measured the 17F(p,p)17F and 17F(p,α)14O reactions to study the properties of states in 18Ne that are important for the 14O(α,p)17F reaction using 17F radioactive beams from the RESOLUT facility at Florida State University. Double-sided silicon strip detectors were used to detect light particles, and recoiling heavy ions were detected in coincidence using a gas ionization chamber at forward angles. The performance of the system was first tested using the 17O(p,α)14N reaction. This was the first measurement using the ASIC electronics and recoil detector being developed for the Array for Nuclear Astrophysics Studies with Exotic Nuclei (ANASEN). We report on the performance and preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]