Nuclear Physics

ADDED, Nemitala
    Study of processes occurring in low energy nuclear reactions (elastic and inelastic scattering, cold fusion). Measures of stopping power of ions in various materials. Development of instrumentation.

 

ARRUDA NETO, João Dias de Toledo

    1) Nuclear reactions induced by real and virtual radiation: Radioactive decay, nuclear optics, collective effects, nucleon and subnucleon degrees of freedom.
    2) Nuclear Fission: quantum effects on fission barriers, isomeric fission, and spectroscopy in the second and third wells.
    3) Nuclear reactions induced by intermediate and high-energy PROTONS: emphasis on biologic interest nuclei (C, H, O, N and P), application in the planning and performing of tumor irradiation (proton therapy), and simulation of the action of cosmic rays in living beings (referent to a project associated to NASA's  Mars Manned Mission).
    4) Application of nuclear techniques to the study of interactions of radiation and biological matter on a macroscopic, mesoscopic (cell cytoplasm), and nanoscopic scale (DNA).
    5) Theoretical studies (and development of models) and experimental studies (with accelerators and nuclear reactors) of the mechanisms of damage and repair of  DNA in plasmids, genome, nuclei and cells, induced by interaction with high and low-LET ionizing radiation.
    6) Application of nuclear techniques to studies of environmental contamination by radionuclides and heavy metals: food chain and water sources.

 

BRANDÃO DE OLIVEIRA, Jose Roberto

    Study of the nuclear structure and the mechanisms of reaction induced by heavy ions through gamma spectroscopy using high-resolution sensors in IFUSP's Pelletron particle accelerator. Development of instrumentation for nuclear physics.

Link to personal page: http://www.dfn.if.usp.br/~zero

 

CARLIN FILHO, Nelson

    Studies of femtoscopy in the ALICE experiment of LHCO Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. At the end of 2009, CERN started its operations with the first p+p collisions. One of the main themes to be addressed is the connection between phase transitions involving elementary quantum fields, nature's fundamental symmetries and the origin of mass.  LHC experimental program will explore the aspects of the mechanisms of symmetry breaking by complementary experimental approaches. ALICE experiment will investigate the role of  chiral symmetry in the generation of mass in hadrons, by using collisions of heavy ions to reach high densities in large volumes and high time scales. We also hope to gather additional information on the structure of OCD phase diagrams. In the ALICE experiment program, an important element distinguishing collisions between heavy ions from other phenomena is the collective behavior of matter in extreme conditions and its large space-time extent. The evolution of the system is correlated to the properties of the amount of matter that interacts strongly, being sensitive to the equation of state. The space-time scene at the moment of breaking allows accessing the gradients of pressure developed along the evolution of the system. It is important to determine the final state of the system so that one can attain the information on its dynamics. The information on the final state is more directly obtained by interferometry methods, which measure the system's size, its expansion, and its density in the phase space. Our work plan focuses on this aspect related to interferometry, and for that end, we are engaged in the researches of the femtoscopy group of ALICE experiment. Femtoscopy is a relatively recent field of study, which is fundamentally related to the fact that dimensions of a given system can be measured to the scale of 10-15 m. We also intend to carry out activities connected to the production and development of instruments for the improvement of detectors used at the ALICE experiment.

Visit the group's page: http://www.dfn.if.usp.br/pesq/ipre/index.html

 

CHAMON, Luiz Carlos

    I have carried out research in the area of heavy-ion nuclear reactions, both in the theoretic and experimental field. Our research group performs experiments at the Pelletron Laboratory, IFUSP, measuring the elastic and inelastic scattering, transference and nuclear fusion reactions between heavy ions. From the theoretical side, we have aimed at developing models of interaction potential and also of reaction dynamics. The São Paulo potential, a theoretic model of nuclear interaction, was proposed by our research group, and is widely used by various research groups for the analysis of nuclear reactions. Currently, I have been working on extending the use of the São Paulo potential to the calculations of nuclear structure, as well as to nucleon-nucleon collisions.

 

CREMA, Edilson

    The study of nuclear reactions at low levels of bombardment energy has achieved great experimental and theoretical progress in the last years. Low energy nuclear fusion  the process responsible for the genesis of all elements in the universe  takes place by quantum tunneling through a potential barrier and is extremely sensitive to all details involved in the process, such as the structures of the nuclei that fuse. All experimental data on reaction mechanisms that we have been gathering in São Paulo in recent years are of excellent quality: they enable mathematical calculations that work as filters, allowing details, that have not so far been perceived, to be extracted.  These techniques, called barrier distribution, are also extremely responsive and have provided very important information on the structure of nuclei and on the process of quantum interference among the different kinds of reaction (elastic scattering, inelastic scattering and the transference of some nucleons). Thus, by associating the high sensibility of the quantum tunneling process to the high sensibility of the barrier distribution, we have begun to understand the process of low energy fusion and the nuclear structure better. The study of reactions using loosely bound beams of stable (6,7Li and 9Be) and radioactive nuclei (6He, 8Li, etc, which are produced at IFUSP by the system RIBRAS) is of particular importance to the understanding of the process of formation of heavy elements in stars. Our research project encompasses those above mentioned subjects both at the experimental and theoretical viewpoints.

 

DEPPMAN, Airton

 The main line of research focuses on the area of Nuclear Physics at intermediate and high energies (40 MeV to 15 TeV).
These activities are developed in Brazil, in collaboration with researchers from Rio de Janeiro-RJ, and Ilhéus-Ba, and in Switzerland through the ALICE collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
 The main tools used in both lines of research are computer codes that use the Monte Carlo method to simulate physical processes.
In Brazil, we develop the CRISP code, which simulates nuclear reactions induced by photons (real or virtual) or baryons (protons or neutrons) in the energy range mentioned above. Here the basics of Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics are studied, and applications in Reactor Physics and Medical Physics are explored.
 In the LHC, we collaborate in the development of methods for analysis and identification of particles and with data analysis. Also we study models to explain the observed phenomena.  The main objective is to study the plasma of quarks and gluons, which is formed in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions.
Besides these two main lines, we also develop other studies where Nuclear Physics or the Monte Carlo method can be applied. Currently we are studying the behavior of RNA molecules that evolve under different conditions, observing the flow of information into the system during this evolutionary process.

 

GASQUES, Leandro Romero

    My main interest is in the field of Nuclear Reactions, mainly connected to the following themes: Elastic and inelastic scattering, heavy-ion fusion,  loosely bound and exotic nuclei, and nuclear astrophysics.

 

GUIMARÃES, Valdir

    1) Investigations on the structure of light exotic nuclei: Resonance in exotic nuclei. Investigations on exotic nuclei using transference and breakup reactions.
    2) Study of nuclear reaction mechanisms: Reactions of elastic scattering, breakup and transference with beams of radioactive elements.
    3) Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics. Study of reactions of light elements nucleosynthesis using transference and breakup reactions. Investigations on exotic nuclei through resonance. The role of exotic nuclei in nuclear astrophysics.
    4) Instrumentation: Equipment for the production of radioactive beams. Construction of gas targets.

 

HELENE, Otaviano Augusto Marcondes

    Nuclear Physics - study of nuclear properties by gamma spectroscopy; accurate determination of gamma transition energies.  Statistic methods - analysis of experiments either with a very small or with a very large number of events; generation and use of covariances among experimental data; deconvolution and interpretation of images by the method of least squares unbiased by minimum variance. Studies on electron-positron annihilation - application of nuclear physics techniques to the study of materials.

 

HUSSEIN, Mahir Saleh

    1) Theory of nuclear reactions.  2) Physics of neutron-rich nuclei. 3) Quantum chaos and Nuclear Physics applications. e) Nuclear astrophysics. 5) Theory of laser-driven accelerators.

 

LÉPINE, Alinka

1) Studies of the properties of exotic nuclei, performing experiments at the Nuclear Physics Open Laboratory of IFUSP, using radioactive beams of 6He, 8Li, 7Be etc, supplied by the superconducting double solenoid RIBAS.

2) Study of mechanisms of reaction of radioactive projectiles: elastic and inelastic scattering, transference and nuclear dissociation reactions.

3) Reactions of astrophysical interest, using radioactive beams from RIBRAS. 

4) Instrumentation: Installation of strip detectors and associated multi-channel electronics. International partnerships with the Spanish Universities of Sevilla and Santiago de Compostella and with the Free University of Brussels.

Visit the group's page: http://web.if.usp.br/diretas/

 

LEWIN, Thereza Borello

    A challenging question concerning nuclear structure is understanding the nuclear regions known as transition regions, in which the addition of one or few pairs of nuclei, specially neutrons, is very frequently responsible for drastic behavioral changes. These regions have constituted a disputed common interest ground of research in São Paulo. The potentialities of Nuclear Spectroscopy with Light Ions are explored, according to two investigation lines that provide complementary information: I) The examination of transference reactions in the experimental characterization of microscopic aspects of the nuclear structure. II) The study of nuclear-coulomb interference (NCI) in inelastic scattering with projectiles of isoscalar interaction, focusing on macroscopic aspects. The Pelletron system - Enge magnetic spectrograph, together with the technique of detection in nuclear emulsions using a deuteron beam - is in great part responsible for the data quality achieved by research groups in São Paulo.

 

LICHTENTHALER FILHO, Rubens

    The study of the structure of nuclei off the line of stability (exotic nuclei) is currently one of the most interesting and promising fields of low energy nuclear physics. While there are fewer than 300 stable nuclei, over 3000 nuclei off the line of stability have been observed, fact that boosts the formation of an extremely wide field of study. New phenomena – like nuclear halos that have been observed in nuclei extremely rich in neutrons, such as 11Li, 8He and others – have very important implications to theoretical models. One of the main application fields of the exotic nuclei area is Nuclear Astrophysics, which studies the production of energy and the synthesis of elements that occurs in stars, and in the primordial universe as well, about 3 minutes after Big-Bang. There is an abundant number of unsolved questions in this area. We are currently installing a system of superconducting solenoids at the Pelletron-LINAC Laboratory at IFUSP, which will enable the production of light exotic nucleus beams. With this equipment we will be able to study the reactions of astrophysical interest involving nuclei such as 6He, 8Li, and in the future, with LINAC, studies of the s-d shell region of elements such as aluminum, magnesium, sodium and others.

 

LIMA, Celso Luiz

    Nuclear Structure: Collective models, microscopy of bosonic models; high-spin states; microscopic description of giant resonances.

 

MAIDANA, Nora Lia

    Cross Section Measurements for Neutron Capture Reactions
    Density Calculations and Determination of Neutron Spectra
    Gamma Spectroscopy in Nuclear Physics

 

MARTINS, Marcos Nogueira

    Projects and planning of experiments to be performed at the microtron under construction: inelastic photon scattering (resonant nuclear fluorescence) and nuclear reactions type (,p) and (,x),  using monochromatic photons. Project, construction and calibration of the focal-plane detection system of the photon tagger of the electron spectrometer of the microtron.

 

MEDINA, Nilberto Heder

    1. Nuclear Structure.
    2. Spectroscopy of aligned gamma rays.
    3. Measurements of the electromagnetic properties of excited states.
    4. Nuclear model testing.
    5. Natural Radiation
    6. Nuclear instrumentation.
    7. Stopping  of heavy ions in solids.
    8. Study of the effects of radiation on electronic devices

Visit the group's page: http://www.dfn.if.usp.br/pesq/gama/index.html

 

MUNHOZ, Marcelo Gameiro

    Study of heavy nucleus collisions at relativistic energies. Those collisions allow the study of nuclear matter in extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. The  theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) predicts that, in those conditions, matter goes through a phase transition to a state of matter named Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). In such state, the elementary building blocks of nuclear matter, quarks and gluons would no longer be confined to hadrons, but forming free particle plasma that, according to the Big-Band theory, would correspond to the matter the universe consisted of in its initial moments of formation. The study of QGP formation and its properties can bring important information on strong interaction between quarks, and can also have consequences in the study of the evolution of the universe. My interest is focused on the study of strange and heavy quarks (charm and bottom) and their interaction with plasma and on hard parton scattering in QGP. These studies are supported by two international partnerships: The STAR experiment (Solenoidal Tracker at Rhic), that is part of the RHIC particle accelerator (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider), located in Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, USA; and the ALICE experiment (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) of the LHC accelerator (Large Hadron Collider), situated in the CERN Laboratory  (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

NIELSEN, Marina

    My work currently focuses on the study of nuclear matter under extreme conditions of density and temperature.  Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), which is the fundamental theory of strong interactions, predicts that, when a critical amount of density and temperature is surpassed, nuclear matter dissolves into matter made of quarks and gluons, the components of nucleons. This is the so called Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). Our group studies the properties of hadrons (particles made of quarks and gluons) using the QCD sum rules, aiming to better understand the experimental data from relativistic heavy ion collisions, from which QGP is expected to emerge.

 

PASCHOLATTI, Paulo Reginaldo

    Gamma spectroscopy in nuclear physics. Development of a system of data acquisition and analysis for detectors used in applied nuclear physics. Accurate determination of gamma transition energies and probabilities. Physics methods applied to the restoration and preservation of objects of cultural patrimony.

 

PASSOS, Emerson José Veloso de

    Many-body theory. Properties of ultracold atomic gases. Bose-Einstein condensation. Condensates in optical lattices. Development of the mean field theories in order to include the effects of temperature and of depletion on the properties of condensates.

 

PIZA, Antonio Fernando Ribeiro de Toledo

    Theoretical Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Structure - methods for treatment of collective effects; nuclear structure via electromagnetic evidence; correlations in nuclei. Nuclear Reactions - applications to nuclear spectroscopy. Treatment of collective modes in nuclear collisions.

 
RIBAS, Roberto Vicençotto
    Nuclear Structure. States of High Angular Momentum. Electromagnetic Momentum and Nuclear Half-Lives. Stopping of Heavy Ions and Multiple Atomic Collisions in Solids. Nuclear instrumentation. Data Acquisition.

 

SUAIDE, Alexandre Alarcon do Passo

    The research lines I am interested in concern various aspects of the nuclear sciences. The main focus of interest is on the study of relativistic heavy ion collisions, chiefly on the production of heavy quarks (charm and bottom), and on their interaction with quark-gluon plasma formed in those collisions. To such end, I cooperate with STAR, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and ALICE, in LHC, Cern.  I also develop research activities related to low-energy reaction dynamics and nuclear astrophysics at the Nuclear Physics Open Laboratory of USP. I am specifically interested in nuclear instrumentation, data acquisition systems, and system automation.

 

TAKAGUI, Emi Márcia

    Studies on the structure of atomic nuclei in extreme conditions and under the interactions between light and heavy ions at low, intermediate, and ultrarelativistic energy levels (Project PHENIX). Development of advanced instrumentation for high energy irradiation:  calorimeters (Project ATLAS); gas multi-wire chambers for particle tracking (Project PHENIX).

contact: takagui@if.usp.br

 

VANIN, Vito Roberto

    Nuclear cross section measurements of photon and neutron absorption by gamma and neutron spectroscopy. Experimental studies of electron transport in amorphous and crystalline media within the energy band of 1 and 5 MeV. Instrumentation for gamma and neutron spectroscopy.

 

VASCONCELOS, Suzana Salém

   LIP - Laboratory of Instrumentation and Particles:

Studies on the interactions of ions and photons with surfaces, desorption phenomena.  Mass spectrometry by ionic desorption induced by ions and photons. Studies of mass spectrometry of molecular ions in the MeV energy range. Development of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer by coupling of a MALDI source to a tandem electrostatic accelerator.
contact: suzana@if.usp.br

Desenvolvido por IFUSP