Nuclear level densities
through statistical spectroscopy
Professor Johnson
Dr. Teran
We use averaging methods
("spectral distribution theory" or "statistical spectroscopy") to look at
secular behavior of highly excited nuclei, in particular nuclear level densities, which are needed to model statistical
capture of neutrons. This is a joint project with Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, supported by the US Department of Energy's Stockpile
Stewardship Academic Alliance. The principal investigator is
Professor Calvin Johnson,
and the postdoctoral associate and prime mover is Dr.
Edgar Teran.
In addition to applications for
Livermore, we are interested
in applications to astrophysics, such as computing nuclear masses and weak
transitions rates needed for nucleosynthesis and neutrino interactions.
