Department of Nuclear Spectroscopy and Technique: Overview

Full text: Research activities of the Department in 1999 were concentrated on medium and low energy nuclear physics, atomic physics of the exotic bare or single electron atoms and on selected applications of nuclear physics. Experiments in the medium energy physics are carried out using large facilities: ANKE in KFA Juelich (Germany) and SINDRUM 2 at PSI Villigen (Switzerland). In the low energy our physicists continue collaboration with Heavy Ion Laboratory of Warsaw University, and large international gamma multidetector facilities like GAMMASPHERE. The heavy ion beams of GSI in Darmstadt (Germany) and PSI are used for studies of atomic effects. Our C-30 proton cyclotron delivers beam to study modification of optical properties of laser crystals and our low background gamma detection facility is used to measure radioactive contamination of the environment. The theoretical work is devoted to study the fusion of the heavy nuclei with the particular interest in production of new isotopes with very small probabilities. The reader is invited to find some of our recent results on the next pages, together with a list of papers published this year. Nevertheless it is worthwhile to emphasize: Observation of helium like hole states in the ionized high Z atoms; Tests of the Langevin Dynamics of Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions; Study of Radiative Electron Capture into bare U ions; First lifetime measurements using the DSAM method on Warsaw Cyclotron; Optimisation of the electron beam flue gas purification using the genetic controller. Some of us are also involved in teaching and in supervision of students and graduate students. Financial support received from the State Committee for Scientific Research and Maria Sklodowska-Curie Polish-American Foundation is acknowledged. (author)