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The coincident detection of particles and gamma rays allows the study of the structure of exotic nuclei via inverse kinematics reactions using radioactive ion beams and thick targets. We report on the status of the project to couple the highresolution charged-particle detector ORRUBA to Gammasphere, a high-efficiency, high-resolution gamma ray detector.

The study of nuclei far from stability elucidates the evolution of nuclear shell structure, and also affects estimates of heavy element nucleosynthesis in supernova explosions. Measurement of transfer reactions in inverse kinematics with radioactive ion beams is a powerful technique for these types of studies. Rare isotope beams often have relatively low intensities, and this places difficult requirements on the detection systems for reaction products. The detectors must provide large solid angle coverage in the laboratory along with good position and energy resolution. The Super ORRUBA detector array has been developed for such measurements and is comprised of 18 double-sided, nonresistive silicon strip detectors. This configuration features low thresholds and improved resolution over detectors employing charge division. As a first implementation of this system, the 80Ge(d,p)81Ge neutron transfer reaction in inverse kinematics was measured at HRIBF at ORNL, to determine the properties of levels in 81Ge.

The astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) is believed to have produced approximately half of the nuclear species more massive than Fe. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about the structure of the majority of the extremely neutron-rich nuclei involved in the reaction flow. At exotic beam facilities such as the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF), measurements with accelerated beams of fission fragments have provided some of the first spectroscopic information on many r-process nuclei. The new SuperORRUBA (Oak Ridge Rutgers University Barrel Array) detector has been constructed at the HRIBF to study such nuclei, and first results are presented.

The (d, p) reaction was measured with the radioactive ion beams of 126Sn and 128Sn in inverse kinematics at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, utilizing the Super ORRUBA silicon detector array. Angular distributions of reaction protons were measured for several states in 127Sn and 129Sn to determine angular momentum transfers and deduce spectroscopic factors. Such information is critical for calculating direct (n,γ) cross sections for the r-process as well as for constraining shell model parameters in the A≈130 region. Combined with previous experiments on 130Sn and 132Sn, these results will provide a complete set of (d, p) reaction data on even tin isotopes between stable 124Sn and doubly-magic 132Sn.

New radioactive ion beam (RIB) facilities, like FRIB in the US or FAIR in Europe, will push further away from stability and enable the next generation of nuclear physics experiments. Thus, the need for improved RIB targets is more crucial than ever: developments in exotic beams should coincide with developments in targets for use with those beams, in order for nuclear physics to remain on the cutting edge. Of great importance to the future of RIB physics are scattering, transfer and capture reaction measurements of rare, exotic, and unstable nuclei on light targets such as hydrogen and helium. These measurements require targets that are dense, highly localized, and pure, and conventional targets often suffer too many drawbacks to allow for such experimental designs. Targets must also accommodate the use of large area, highly-segmented silicon detector arrays, high-efficiency gamma arrays, and novel heavy ion detectors to efficiently measure the reaction products. To address this issue, the Jet Experiments in Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics (JENSA) Collaboration led by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is in the process of designing, building and testing a supersonic gas jet target for use at existing and future RIB facilities. The gas jet target provides a high density and high purity of target nuclei within a tightly confined region, without the use of windows or backing materials. The design also enables the use of multiple state-of-the-art detection systems.

Neutron transfer (d, p) reactions have been measured with neutron‐rich fission fragment beams of 130,132Sn and 134Te populating l = 1 and l = 3 excitations above the N = 82 shell gap. Preliminary results and future prospects are discussed.