Charge-exchange reactions provide a unique tool to study microscopic and macroscopic properties of nuclei. On the microscopic side, they allow for close inspection of shell-model and RPA-type calculations. Most notably, weak-interaction rates that are important for astrophysical reaction rates can be determined and experimental results serve as validation of (large-scale or Monte-Carlo) shell model codes. On the macroscopic side, they provide access to isovector giant resonances. The properties of these resonances reveal information on for example the asymmetry term in mass-formulae and neutron-skin thicknesses. Moreover, their decay properties are a probe of the interior structure of nuclei. Having been applied very successfully for gaining information about stable nuclei, the next challenge is the study of unstable nuclei. In the seminar, an overview of the work on charge-exchange reactions will be given, focusing on the abovementioned applications, experiment issues and the future prospects for use with radioactive beams.

ANL Physics Division Seminar Schedule