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Worldwide efforts to tackle the nature of exotic nuclei comprise the construction of new-generation Radioactive Ion Beam facilities. The Italian community is deeply involved in the process and the construction of SPES at Legnaro National Laboratories (INFN) is progressing. This contribution describes the layout of SPES in all its flavours, from Nuclear Physics to Applications in Nuclear Medicine and Neutron Physics. In particular, the status of the SPES-β ISOL facility, together with some of the relevant physics cases and the associated equipment are described.

LINUS is a project at the INFN Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL, Italy) to create a suite of different neutron sources (LSNS, NEPIR, SLOWNE) driven by existing accelerators. LSNS, driven by a 40 mA, 5 MeV proton RFQ, will use Li and Be targets to deliver cold, thermal, epithermal and fast neutrons. The SPES high current (0.75 mA), 70 MeV proton cyclotron will drive the NEPIR and SLOWNE facilities. NEPIR will alternatively deliver quasi mono-energetic neutrons with energy peak down to 20 MeV, and a neutron beam with a continuous energy distribution similar to that of neutrons present in the Earth atmosphere in the accessible energy range. SLOWNE is an intense neutron source for applications outside the LSNS range.

The response of YAP:Ce scintillators to energetic heavy ions in the mass range A = 20−200 has been studied. The pulse height and the pulse height resolution have been explored in details for a single YAP:Ce crystal, coupled to R4141 PMT, by using 20Ne, 40Ar, 84Kr, 129Xe and 197Au beams having energies ranging from 40 A MeV to 15 A MeV. Energy degraded beams have also been employed in order to cover a large energy range. Finally, timing properties were studied in the BIGSOL spectrometer at Texas A&M by measuring the heavy fragment time-of-flight against a PPAC detector.

Inclusive and exclusive cross sections have been measured for different projectile breakup channels. It is observed that the inclusive cross sections are larger than the exclusive ones. It is found that other processes, besides the direct breakup channel, significantly contribute to the inclusive channels. A clear alpha+x cluster structure has been found from coincidence data.

The reaction 24Mg + 24Mg was used to produce the composite nucleus 48Cr at 60 MeV of excitation energy where a narrow resonance (170 KeV) has been found by measuring the elastic and inelastic channels. To determine the occurrence of deformation of this compound nucleus and its possible connection with the resonances and the hypothetical cluster structure, evaporative Light Charged Particles (LCP) were measured and compared to Statistical Model (SM) predictions. The experiment was performed at LNL using the 8πLP apparatus. The comparison of the evaporation residue-LCP coincidence angular distributions and LCP energy spectra with SM calculations supports the presence of a very large deformation of the composite nucleus 48Cr that scales with the angular momentum.

Systems of intermediate fissility are characterized by an evaporation residues cross section comparable or larger than the fission cross section, and by a relatively higher probability for charged particle emission in the pre-scission channel. In a theoretical framework in which time scale estimates of the fission process rely on statistical model calculations, the analysis of particle emission in the evaporation residues channel is the source of additional constraints on statistical and dynamical models. This contribution will focus on our statistical and dynamical analysis of a more complete set of data from the system 32S + 100Mo at ELab = 200 MeV. Statistical model fails in reproducing the whole set of data and no convincing estimate is possible of the fission time scale. In particular, while pre-scission multiplicities can be reproduced without delay, the model strongly overestimates proton and alpha particle multiplicities in the evaporation residues channel irrespective of the statistical model input parameters and prescriptions used for the level density and the transmission coefficients. The analysis of the same set of data with a dynamical model produces a very good agreement with the full set of data and indicates that one-body dissipation plays a dominant role in the fission process, implying a fission delay of 23–25×10−21s.

The isospin dependence of the level density, both through the level density parameter and the symmetry energy contribution has been evaluated. The effects on the most relevant observables in fusion evaporation reactions have been estimated by using the statistical model. We present here the results for the 134Sn +4 He reaction, whose measurement will be possible with the second generation RIB facilities SPES and SPIRAL2. Sizeable effects are predicted on the light particle energy spectra and multiplicities and evaporation residue distribution. In particular, the measure of evaporation residue yields and light particle multiplicities are expected to unfold the two effects. In addition, the same calculations have been carried out for reactions induced by stable beams, in order to search for clues of isospin effects. In this case, the direct comparison of the experimental light charged particle energy spectra for the two reactions 7Li+58,64Ni at the same excitation energy and angular momentum, is proposed as a good approach to observe isospin effects.

The reaction 197Au + 232Th at 7.5 AMeV was studied using the BigSol spectrometer at Texas A&M. Theoretical calculations suggest that this reaction could be used as an alternative method to produce heavy and superheavy elements. During the short interaction time, heavy systems of interacting nucleons are formed and, due to the strong energy dissipation, a large number nucleons can be transferred. The larger the lifetime of the decaying giant system, the larger the possible number of transferred nucleons. Moreover shell effects may help in the formation of heavy nuclei in the region of the island of stability. Reaction products emitted in an angular range from 6 to 16 degrees were collected at the entrance of the BigSol spectrometer and detected at the focal plane using a segmented ionization chamber. Four position sensitive PPAC detectors placed along the ion's flight path were used to track the product trajectories and measure the times of flight. The experimental results are presented and compared with theoretical calculations performed with the Constraint Molecular Dynamics code.

The aim of the SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) project is to provide high intensity and high-quality beams of neutron-rich nuclei to perform forefront research in nuclear structure, reaction dynamics and interdisciplinary fields like medical, biological and material sciences. SPES is a second generation ISOL radioactive ion beam facility, part of the INFN Road Map for the Nuclear Physics and supported by the italian national laboratories LNL (Legnaro) and LNS (Catania). It represents an intermediate step toward the future generation European ISOL facility EURISOL. It is based on the ISOL method with an UCx Direct Target able to sustain a power of 10 kW. The primary proton beam will be delivered by a Cyclotron accelerator with an energy of more then 40 MeV and a beam current of 200 μA. Neutron-rich radioactive ions will be produced by Uranium fission at an expected fission rate in the target of the order of 1013 fissions per second. The exotic isotopes will be re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting LINAC up to energies of 10-13 AMeV, for masses in the region of A=130 amu, with an expected rate on the secondary target of 108 pps.

SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) is an INFN project to develop a Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility as an intermediate step toward EURISOL. The SPES project is part of the INFN Road Map for the Nuclear Physics development in Italy and is supported by the whole Italian Nuclear Physics community and mainly by LNL and LNS the INFN National Laboratories of Nuclear Physics in Legnaro and Catania. The Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) was chosen as the site for the facility construction due to the presence of the PIAVE-ALPI accelerator complex, which will be used as re-accelerator for the RIBs. The SPES project is based on the ISOL method with an UCx Direct Target and makes use of a proton driver of at least 40 MeV energy and 200 microA current. Neutron-rich radioactive beams will be produced by Uranium fission at an expected fission rate in the target in the order of 1013 fissions per second. The key feature of SPES is to provide high intensity and high-quality beams of neutron rich nuclei to perform forefront research in nuclear structure, reaction dynamics and interdisciplinary fields like medical, biological and material sciences. The exotic isotopes will be re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting linac at energies up to 10AMeV for masses in the region of A=130 amu with an expected rate on target of 109 pps.

The EURISOL program aims at the construction, beyond the year 2013, of the next-generation European Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility. It will extend and amplify the exciting work presently being carried out at the first generation RIB facilities in Europe and other parts of the world. The EURISOL facility will play a complementary role to the recently approved upgrade of the GSI facility at Darmstadt, Germany, the European next-generation In-Flight RIB facility FAIR.