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The experimental data of the isotopic distribution for projectile-like fragments are presented for the 17,18N + 197Au reaction at 33 MeV/u. The width of the isotopic distributions for 18N projectile is significantly broader than that for 17N projectile, and the average N/Z ratio of the former shifts to higher neutron number side. As long as the realistic nucleon density distribution is used, the isotopic distribution for fragments is reproduced by the simple abrasion-ablation model calculation, which thus provides an independent way to determine the surface distribution of the nuclear matter density for neutron-rich nuclei.

A neutron detector array was used in a breakup reaction experiment at RIKEN with an 82.5 MeV/u 8He beam impinging on the CH2 and C targets. The array was calibrated using the cosmic ray, the γ ray from the 6He+Pb reaction and the mono-energetic neutrons from the 7Li(p, n)7Be(g.s.+0.43 MeV) reaction. The position resolution, timing resolution and neutron detection efficiency were obtained accordingly. Cross-talk rejection conditions were developed based on analysis of the data taken from the 7Li(p, n)7Be(g.s.+0.43 MeV) test experiment, and finally a preliminary two-neutron correlation function for the 8He breakup reaction was investigated.

An experiment for knockout reaction induced by 8He beam at 82.5 MeV/nucleon on CH2 and C targets was carried out. The 6He and 4He core fragments at forward angles and the recoiled protons at large angles were detected coincidently. From this exclusive measurement the valence nucleon knockout mechanism and the core knockout mechanism are separated, which can be applied to the exclusive spectroscopic study on the structure of exotic nuclei.

Efficient calibration methods have been applied to a complex neutron detector array by using the cosmic-ray muons. Through a differential operation on the time difference spectrum, the two edges of this spectrum can be precisely determined, corresponding to the geometrical two ends of the bar, and therefore the relationship between the position and time difference spectrum can be deduced for each bar. The alignment between different bars is realized by choosing cosmic-rays which are perpendicular to the bars. The position resolutions are extracted through a track fitting procedure which uses all tracks detected coincidently by the whole system, together with a simulation analysis. A method is also developed to calibrate the deposited energy by using cosmic-rays at different incident angles.

A knockout reaction experiment was carried out by using the 6He beam at 82.5 MeV/nucleon impinging on CH2 and C targets. The α core fragments at forward angles were detected in coincidence with the recoiled protons at larger angles. From this exclusive measurement the valence nucleon knockout mechanism and the core knockout mechanism are separated. This study provides a basis for the exclusive spectroscopic investigation of the exotic nuclei.

The latest progress made in the field of radioactive ion beam physics is outlined and the key problems still under investigation are indicated. The focal points are the limit of nuclear existence, shell evolution and new magic numbers, halo and cluster structures, new excitation modes, and strong coupling between reaction channels. This field is still at a starting phase and much more new outcomes are foreseen.

The Halo and cluster structure at the ground state of unstable nuclei are among the most exciting phenomena of current nuclear physics. Probing these structures requires a careful selection of reaction tools. In the past twenty years, knockout reactions have been used intensively to investigate spectroscopically the structure of unstable nuclei. In this report we have illustrated the latest development of the knockout reaction tool and have emphasized the recoiled proton tagging method. A quantitative criteria is developed to evaluate the quasi-free feature of the knockout process. The newly discovered "towing mode" reaction tool is also outlined and its applicability at transit energies is discussed.

To perform a kinematically complete measurement of the dissociation reaction for neutron-rich nuclei, a multi-neutron correlation spectrometer is proposed at Peking University. A Monte Carlo simulation code based on GEANT4 is developed for a single scintillation bar which processes not only the energy deposition but also the light propagation in the scintillator and the light collection and conversion to signal at the end of the bar in a realistic way. The simulating method is described in detail in this paper, and the timing and position resolutions and detector efficiency are studied based on the simulation and compared with the experimental results. A new method of crosstalk rejection has been demonstrated to be important for the design of the whole spectrometer.

The design principle for a multi-wire proportional chamber with a cathode strip and delay-line readout is described. A prototype chamber of a size of 10 cm ×10 cm was made together with the readout electronics circuit. A very clean signal with very low background noise was obtained by applying a transformer between the delay-line and the pre-amplifier in order to match the resistance. Along the anode wire direction a position resolution of less than 0.5 mm was achieved with a 55Fe-5.9 keV X ray source. The simple structure, large effective area and high position resolution allow the application of a gas chamber of this kind to many purposes.

Four high-purity germanium 4-fold segmented Clover detectors have been applied in the experiment of neutron-rich nucleus 21N. The performance of those four Clovers have been tested with radioactive sources and in-beam experiments, and the main results including energy resolution, peak-to-total ratios, the variation of the hit pattern distribution in different crystals of one Clover detector with the energy of γ ray, and absolute full energy peak detection efficiency curve, were presented.

We have tested and analyzed the properties of two-dimensional Position-Sensitive-silicon-Detector (PSD) with new integrated preamplifiers. The test demonstrates that the best position resolution for 5.5 MeV α particles is 1.7 mm (FWHM), and the best energy resolution is 2.1%, which are notably better than the previously reported results. A scaling formula is introduced to make the absolute position calibration.

The β-delayed neutron and γ energy spectra taken from the decay of neutron-rich nucleus 21N were measured by using the β–γ and β – n coincidence detection method. Thirteen new neutron groups ranging from 0.28MeV to 4.98MeV and with a total branching ratio of 88.7 ± 4.2% were observed and presented. One γ transition with an energy of 1222keV emitted from the excited state of 21O, and four γ transitions with energies of 1674, 2397, 2780, and 3175keV emitted from the excited states of 20O were identified in the β decay chain of 21N. The β decay half-life for 21N is determined to be 82.9 ± 1.9 ms. The uncertainty of half-life is much smaller than the previous result.

The inclusive differential cross sections of the 7Li nucleus in a reaction induced by 6He on a 9Be target are measured at an incident energy of 25 MeV/nucleon. Finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation calculations suggest that these 7Li particles are formed in a direct single-proton pickup reaction 9Be(6He,7Li)8Li. The experimental data can be well reproduced by taking into account of the contributions of both the ground states and the first excited states of 7Li and 8Li.

The breakup reaction cross sections were measured for the reaction of 6He at 25 MeV/nucleon from 9Be target with intensity of 105 pps. By fitting the energy spectra of breakup α particles with Gaussian functions, the angular distribution of differential cross sections in the laboratory system has been extracted and compared with the Serber model calculations. The good agreement between the calculation and the experimental data favours a dominant configuration of the 4He core plus valence neutrons for the structure of 6He.

The differential cross sections of quasielastic scattering of a 25?MeV/u 6He from 9Be target have been measured. The double-folding model approach is applied to generate the real part of the optical potential. The imaginary potential parameters as well as some of the real potential parameters are studied in comparison with the experimental data. The effect of the unstable nucleus is discussed.

The cross sections of one- and two-neutron transfers induced by 6He at 25 MeV/u on a 9Be target were measured in RIKEN. Clear identification of the recoiled Be isotopes was achieved. In total five 11Be and 371 10Be events, the corresponding two- and one-neutron transfers were obtained and analysed for transfer reaction cross sections. The results are useful to determine the spectroscopic factors of the internal halo structure of the 6He nucleus.

We present the experimental isotopic distributions of the 18N projectile fragmentation products Li, Be, B and C in coincidence with neutrons, as well as the inclusive ones on 197Au and 9Be targets. In the framework of the abrasion-ablation model, these distributions are calculated for various nucleon density distributions of the projectile. The comparison with experimental isotopic distributions of the projectile-like fragments in coincidence with neutrons shows that the information on the nucleon density distribution of the 18N projectile can be extracted.

The 17Ne nucleus is a possible candidate with a two-proton borromean halo structure. Since the theoretical model is difficult to handle the three-body system, it is difficult to determine the two-proton halo structure in 17Ne. In the present research, we try to study the breakup reaction of 17Ne. For the Borromean nuclei, one-proton knockout results in an unstable nucleus which is decaying further by proton emission. This process will result in an angular correlation between the direction of the aligned recoiling unstable nucleus and its decay products. The angular correlations can give us information about the configuration of the valence proton in the 17Ne. Furthermore, theoretical calculations indicate that the momentum distributions of 16F c.m are sensitive to the structure of the halo in 17Ne. Thus the measurement of momentum distributions of 16F c.m may also give us conclusive information on the structure of 17Ne. The present experiment has been done at IMP in Lanzhou using the radioactive beam 17Ne at 30.8 MeV/u on a 43mg/cm2 12C target. The data analysis is under procedure and the primary results are provided.

In order to look for a proposed cluster structure of 16C, simulation work was made. The simulation of the reaction dynamics give the resolution of the excitation energy on 16C which was reconstructed prior to breakup. The excitation energy resolution is typically ~200 keV at 2 MeV above the two body decay threshold for 16C→12Be+4He. Moreover, some performances of detectors tested using 241Am α source are also reported.

National Natural Science Foundation of China[10405001, 10775005, 10735010, 10605001, J0730316]; Chinese Major State Basin Research Development Program[2007CB815002]

The stopping powers of Br and C in Ag film have been measured with the method of elastic recoil detection in energy range 0.28-0.42 MeV/amu. The results have been compared with the theoretical calculations of TRIM-90.

Three large sized glass resistive plate chambers (RPCs) are built and applied to measure the spatial resolution of the detector. The readout strips are collected to a LC delay-line and the time difference is used to determine the position. Cosmic rays are triggered by a set of two scintillation counters and the coincidently measured positions from the three RPCs are used to deduce the position uncertainty. In average a spatial resolution of 0.90 mm (FWHM) is obtained for a single RPC, with a good uniformity across the detection area. This result suggests that large sized glass RPC operating in the avalanche mode is a promising candidate for the muon tomography detection system.

The quasi-elastic scattering of a secondary 6He beam (25 MeV/n) on a 9Be target has been measured for the first time with the application of a sophisticated tracking detector system. The angular distribution is reported. A phenomenological optical potential is obtained by fitting the experimental data, which encourages more accurate experimental measurements.

Differential cross sections for the quasi-elastic scattering of C-16 at 47.5 MeV/nucleon from C-12 target are measured. Coupled-channels calculations are carried out and the optical potential parameters are obtained by fitting the experimental angular distribution.