Secondary beams and the synthesis of exotic nuclei

With the advent of modern fast cycling synchrotrons capable of delivering high intensity heavy ion beams up to uranium, the production of secondary radioactive ion beams (RIBs) with sufficient intensity has become feasible. The basic production mechanism is the fragmentation of near relativistic heavy ion beams on light targets. The physical facts underlying the efficient conversion of stable beams into RIBs are: (1) at beam energies of several 100 MeV/A thick conversion targets (1 to 10 g/cm2) can be used, which, for nuclei near stability, convert on the order of .1 to 1% of the primary beam into secondary beams, (2) the secondary beams are emitted into a narrow phase space (small transverse and longitudinal emittances), and (3) these emittances are of the correct magnitude to match the acceptances of suitably designed storage and accumulator rings. 14 refs