The University of Surrey is partnering with researchers in Japan to develop instruments that can measure previously inaccessible isotopes, which are forms of matter that exist only briefly at the limits of nuclear stability.

The project has been awarded 215,100 pounds from the Royal Society's International Science Partnership Fund and brings together Surrey, Kyushu University and the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) at the RIKEN laboratory, a facility where intense beams of exotic nuclei are produced for experiments.

Researchers will investigate fundamental properties of unstable atomic nuclei, concentrating on both neutron rich and neutron deficient isotopes that do not occur naturally on Earth and can only be created momentarily in advanced laboratories.

By measuring their mass and their half life, the team aims to refine theoretical models of nuclear structure and improve understanding of how chemical elements originate in nuclear astrophysical environments.

Dr Ragandeep Singh Sidhu, Future Fellow at the University of Surrey's School of Mathematics and Physics and project co-lead, said: "These extremely rare isotopes are among the most difficult atomic nuclei to study, but they hold crucial clues about how nuclear matter behaves at its limits. Measuring their mass and half-lives for the first time will allow us to significantly improve the models used to understand both atomic nuclei and the cosmic processes that create the heaviest elements in the universe. This work would not be possible without close collaboration with our partners in Japan and access to world-leading facilities at RIBF, RIKEN."

Experiments will take place at the Rare-Radioactive Isotope Ring (R3) at RIBF, RIKEN, a facility that can store and repeatedly observe short lived nuclei.

Using advanced detection methods, the collaboration will probe regions of the nuclear chart that have not previously been reached by experiment.

The Surrey group will lead development and testing of detector and data acquisition systems in the UK ahead of the experimental campaign in Japan, giving the team a central role in preparing the measurements.

Over three years, the project will also deepen collaboration between the UK and Japan, support new experimental tools and help maintain the UK's role in nuclear physics research.

Dr Masaomi Tanaka, Assistant Professor at Kyushu University and project co-lead, said: "One of the most exciting aspects of this project is the opportunity to study how nuclear shells behave in some of the heaviest and most neutron-rich nuclei ever measured. For some of these isotopes, we currently have almost no experimental data, so these measurements will directly challenge and improve our understanding. Through this collaboration, we aim to map the nuclear landscape in new and previously inaccessible detail."

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