News

GODDESS system has two Letters accepted in one month (June 2026), reporting on the open quantum system Carbon-14 and radioisotope Titanium-44 production in supernova explosions. High-efficiency, precision particle-γ coincidence experiments […]

On June 12th and 13th, a workshop entitled Eras in Nuclear Physics was held at the UT Conference Center to celebrate the career of Jolie Cizewski (Rutgers University, 1986-2026) –  a longtime […]

As part of a broader campaign to understand gamma-induced charged particle emission with multiple materials, the cross sections of the (𝛾, p), and (𝛾, 𝛼) reactions on a natural zinc […]

Matt Christie, an SCGSR student working with Steve Pain (ORNL), successfully defended his PhD thesis on November 5th. Working with Miguel Madurga, his thesis advisor at the University of Tennessee, […]

Understanding the nucleosynthesis and energy generation in quiescent and explosive stellar burning requires a detailed understanding of reaction rates on many unstable nuclides. Such reaction rates are often governed by […]

GODDESS has successfully completed its 2025 campaign at the ATLAS facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Over the course of roughly four months (Feb-May), the GODDESS collaboration performed six Program Advisory Committee approved experiments, touching on subjects […]

The role of nuclear isomers in astrophysical nucleosynthesis is gaining increased attention, as reactions on ground and isomeric states are both potentially important for determining the reaction rates and flow […]

On April 2, Scott Carmichael successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on “An experimentally constrained reaction rate fo57Ni(p,γ)58Cu” at the University of Notre Dame. Scott constrained the amount of observable 44Ti produced […]

Identifying, isolating, and subtracting background from the signal of interest is vital for nuclear physics experiments. These backgrounds introduce unwanted uncertainties that must be accounted for properly to extract accurate […]

The first campaign of GODDESS experiments at FRIB was run successfully in April-May 2024. These experiments coupled three large instruments, and their respective data acquisition systems, for the first time: the ORRUBA array of position-sensitive […]

University of Tennessee student Matt Christie has been selected for a DOE SCGSR Award, to work with Steve Pain at ORNL. Matt’s proposal is based on developing an experiment to […]

The (d,p) reaction has previously been validated as a surrogate for obtaining (n,g) reactions using the Surrogate Reaction Method in normal kinematics. To further benchmark the use of (d,p) reactions […]

The rate of the final step in the astrophysical αp process, the 34Ar(α, p)37K reaction, has been measured using the Jet Experiments in Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics (JENSA) gas-jet target […]

Chad Ummel successfully defended his PhD, based on work with GODDESS to study the 134Xe(d,p) reaction. Neutron-transfer reactions can be used to probe the the single-neutron states of nuclei near […]

The 30P(p, γ)31S reaction acts as a bottleneck for classical nova nucleosynthesis beyond A=30 in ONe novae, due in part to the long lifetime of 30P (∼2.5 minutes) with respect […]

Scott Carmichael, a University of Notre Dame graduate student, has received a prestigious SCGSR award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research program. Scott’s research will […]

The results are out from the March 31-April 1 2021 ATLAS Program Advisory Committee. Five GODDESS proposals were submitted, encompassing 55 collaborators, representing 14 institutions across four countries. All 5 […]

Neutron-transfer reactions with radioactive-ion beams (RIBs) probe the single-neutron components of the nuclear wave function, which are needed to deduce the direct semi-direct (DSD) component of neutron capture. With N=50, […]

γ-ray spectroscopy of astrophysically important states in 19Ne M.R. Hall, D.W. Bardayan, T. Baugher, A. Lepailleur, S.D. Pain, A. Ratkiewicz, et al., Phys. Rev. C 101, 015804 19Ne is an important […]

The 38K(d,p) experiment, halted in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, resumed and has been successfully and safely completed under tight COVID-19 working restrictions. The experiment, employing ORRUBA at the […]

Graduate student Rajesh Ghimire has received a Graduate Advancement Training and Education Award from the Science Alliance, a Center of Excellence established to advance cooperative research between the University of […]

The ORRUBA experiment the NSCL, studying mirror states to constrain the 38K(p,g) bottleneck reaction, has been halted due to COVID-19 as NSCL operations are paused following the State of Michigan’s […]

Measurement of the 7Li(γ,t)4He ground-state cross section between Eγ = 4.4 and 10 MeV M. Munch, C. Matei, S. D. Pain, et al., Phys. Rev. C 101, 055801 The 7Li(γ,t)4He ground state […]

γ-ray spectroscopy of astrophysically important states in 39Ca M.R. Hall, D.W. Bardayan, T. Baugher, A. Lepailleur, S.D. Pain, A. Ratkiewicz, et al., Phys. Rev. C 101, 015804 Background: Nova explosions synthesize elements […]

Researchers developed a state-of-the-art charged particle detector at ORNL called the Oak Ridge Rutgers University Barrel Array, or ORRUBA, to study reactions with beams of astrophysically important radioactive nuclei.

Direct neutron capture cross section on 80Ge and probing shape coexistence in neutron-rich nuclei S. Ahn, D.W. Bardayan, K.L. Jones, et al., PRC 100 044613 Results are presented from the first neutron-transfer […]

The first UK-US DRACULA Workshop was held at ORNL on 26th-27th September. The Workshop was hosted by JINPA and organized by Steve Pain. DRACULA is a proposed (University of Surrey, UK) new particle detector optimized for fast-beam experiments at FRIB. The […]

“Our collaboration of more than 50 scientists brought GODDESS to ATLAS for this and a number of other experiments probing nuclear structure and astrophysics. ATLAS is currently the only place in the world with the marriage of equipment and beams we need to effectively study these reactions.” — Steven Pain, research scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Constraining spectroscopic factors near the r-process path using combined measurements: 86Kr(d,p)87Kr D. Walter, S. D. Pain, J. A. Cizewski, F. M. Nunes et al., Phys. Rev. C. 99, 054625 Background: Modern nuclear structure […]

Informing direct neutron capture on tin isotopes near the N=82 shell closure B. Manning, G. Arbanas, J. A. Cizewski, R. L. Kozub, et al., Phys. Rev. C. 99, 041302(R) Half of the elements […]

New γ-ray transitions observed in 19Ne with implications for the 15O(α,γ)19Ne reaction rate M.R. Hall, D.W. Bardayan, T. Bauger, A. Lepailleur, A. Ratkiewicz, et al., Phys. Rev. C 101, 015804 The 15O(α,γ)19Ne reaction is responsible for breakout […]

M. Hall et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 122, 052701 (2019) Detection of nuclear-decay γ rays provides a sensitive thermometer of nova nucleosynthesis. The most intense γ-ray flux is thought to […]

Dr Matthew Hall PhD Thesis, University of Notre Dame (2019) Nova explosions occur on the surface of a white dwarf that has accreted mass from a less-evolved companion star. Because […]

These results will help benchmark theoretical models and guide future investigations of unstable nuclei with even greater neutron surpluses.

Dr David Walter PhD Thesis, Rutgers University (October 2018) Modern nuclear structure models suggest that the shell structure near the valley of stability, with well-established shell closures at N=50, for […]

Neutron-hole states in 131Sn and spin-orbit splitting in neutron-rich nuclei R. Orlandi, S.D. Pain, et al., Phys. Lett. B 785, 615 In atomic nuclei, the spin-orbit interaction originates from the coupling of the […]

Chad Ummel has recently been awarded a Department of Energy NNSA Stockpile Stewardship Graduate Fellowship. Chad (who is a Rutgers University graduate student, based in the Physics Division at ORNL) […]

for ORNL Review Rutgers University PdD student David Walter is interviewed for ORNL Review about his research in nuclear astrophysics using ORRUBA. [Photo credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department […]

Harrison Sims MPhys Thesis, University of Surrey (January 2016) Experimental nuclear astrophysics plays a key role in the understanding of our universe. It is therefore critical that measurements conducted in […]

Constraint of the Astrophysical 26gAl(p,γ)27Si Destruction Rate at Stellar Temperatures S.D. Pain et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 114, 212501 The Galactic 1.809-MeV γ-ray signature from the β decay of 26gAl is a dominant target of γ-ray […]

Sarah Lonsdale MPhys Thesis, University of Surrey (2015) The field of nuclear astrophysics is innovating rapidly in order to describe properly the origins of the chemical elements in stellar environments. […]

Dr Brett Manning PhD Thesis, Rutgers University (October 2014) Atomic nuclei with a few nucleons beyond shell closures are important in understanding the evolution of single-particle structure, which is critical […]

Reactions of a 10Be beam on proton and deuteron targets K.T. Schmitt et al., Phys. Rev. C 88, 064612 The extraction of detailed nuclear structure information from transfer reactions requires reliable, […]

Dr Sunghoon (Tony) Ahn PhD Thesis, University of Tennessee (August, 2013) The study of low-lying levels of nuclei near closed shells not only elucidates the evolution of nuclear shell structure […]

Callum Shand MPhys Thesis, University of Surrey (February 2013) The advent of radioactive ion beams has facilitated the study of nuclei far from stability, providing a means by which our […]

Neutron Single Particle Structure in 131Sn and Direct Neutron Capture Cross Sections R.L. Kozub, G. Arbanas, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 172501 Recent calculations suggest that the rate of neutron capture […]

Dr Patrick O’Malley PhD Thesis, Rutgers University (May 2012) Understanding the origin of elements in the universe is one of the main goals of nuclear science and astrophysics today. Achieving […]

Halo Nucleus 11Be: A Spectroscopic Study via Neutron Transfer K.T. Schmitt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 192701 The best examples of halo nuclei, exotic systems with a diffuse nuclear cloud […]

Steven Hardy MPhys Thesis, University of Surrey (January 2012) This work concentrates on the utilisation of the new Super-ORRUBA detectors for the measurement of 26Al(d,p)27Al, performed at the Holifield Radioactive […]

Dr Kyle Schmitt PhD Thesis, University of Tennessee (December 2011) Historically, measurements of differential cross sections for the neutron transfer reaction (d,p) on stable targets have been an important tool […]