Unique separator-spectrometer experiments at the frontiers of nuclear physics: the Super-FRS scientific program

¹ GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
² II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany
³ ELI-NP@Horia Hulubei, National Institute for Physics and Nucl. Engineering, Măgurele, Romania
⁴ IPN Orsay/IN2P3-CNRS and University Paris XI, Orsay, France
⁵ School of Physics and Nucl. Energy Engineering and IRCNPC, Beihang University, Beijing, China
⁶ Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

Published online: 20 March 2014

Abstract

The superconducting fragment separator (Super-FRS) is the magnetic high-resolution spectrometer, which will be coupled to the heavy-ion synchrotron complex at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research FAIR. It will enable a variety of unique nuclear physics experiments. Key examples of the experimental program are presented, for instance the production and study of exotic hypernuclei (i.e.: nuclei far-off stability containing hyperons), the production and study of mesic atoms (i.e.: atoms containing bound mesons, like pions or eta mesons), the discovery of new neutron-rich isotopes, the search for new phenomena in weakly bound or dilute nuclear systems, and the search for neutron radioactivity, an elementary radioactive decay mode, which has not been discovered yet.