80 years of Nuclear Physics at Notre Dame

A history of the NSL and its 5 accelerator generations ~12 student generations ~ 5 faculty generations

Michael Wiescher Pre-Accelerator History

Founding of the Department of Physics: 1920 Service department for teaching undergraduates of the Engineering & Mathematics Departments

Rev. Henry Bolger, CSC Department Head 1936 – 1963 Reorganization & Reorientation of Department: 1. Hiring of new young or internationally recognized scientists 1936 – 1938 2. University Funding and Construction of Accelerator Laboratory 1935 – 1937 3. Introduction of Graduate Program 1938 – 1942 Accelerator History 1930 Cockroft Walton (Cavendish Laboratory) 1931 Converted X-ray tube (Caltech) (C.C. Lauritsen) 1931 Electrostatic Generator (MIT) (R. Van de Graaff 1932 Cyclotron (UC Berkeley) (T.H. Lawrence) 1933 Electrostatic Generator (Carnegie) (M.A. Tuve) 1935 Electrostatic Generator (Carnegie Inst.)(R.G. Herb) 1936 Electrostatic Generator (Notre Dame) The 6th accelerator laboratory in the country!

1933 Cushing Hall “Upon recommendation of Father Steiner, the Department of Physics was granted an appropriation of $900.00 to purchase a high voltage generator to be used for experimental purposes in the room set aside for this in the Engineering Building.” Ed Coomes (1927) George Collins (1933)

completed in spring 1937

South Bend Tribune 8. 5. 1935 1939 Faculty & Graduate Students Fall 1938 Bernard Waldman joined Physics faculty

Nuclear Group New Plans in 1940 After Bernard Waldman had joined Physics faculty in 1938 Plans for a new accelerator emerged:  To reach higher energies  Better stability  Less humidity dependence

University funding was provided through support by Father O’Hara for building and for accelerator. Scholastic September 20. 1940 1941-1952 1942 First PhDs in Physics

PhD program was initiated in 1938 War Effort & Manhattan Project

New accelerator commissioned for war effort through the University of Chicago Metallurgical Center, became part of the Manhattan Project!

Wisconsin: neutron production to test material fissibility Notre Dame: high energy electron beam to test radiation hardness

George Collins moved to MIT, Bernie Waldman stayed on for local efforts. Daily users from Chicago by South-Shore and Tram from campus to campus Trinity & Hiroshima Development of guidance system 1943-44 Development of recording system 1944-45 LA-8819 Report UC-34

509th Composite Group Nieuwland Science Hall 1952-1953 Back to normal and new beginning Graduate Student Life in the Forties

Nieuwland Hall being build in 1952-1953 Now $72.11 on Amazon ٭ ٭ ٭ ٭ ٭ Nuclear Physics Faculty 1955-1965

1958 1945 1938 1954

Bud Darden 1957 Paul Chagnon 1962 1944 1956 Move of the Accelerator

1955, Back of Science Hall Research Fields in 1956-1970 Photon & electron induced reactions: W. Miller & B. Waldman (ND) Nuclear Structure and - : J. Mihelich (BNL) and -spectroscopy: E. Funk (Michigan) Nuclear reactions, magnetic systems: C. Brown (MIT) Nuclear reactions, in-beam -spectroscopy: P. Chagnon (Michigan) Polarized Beam Physics: S. Darden (Wisconsin) paving the path for the future 1968 Tandem Accelerator

The FN tandem accelerator was purchased from High Voltage Engineering. The construction started in 1966, the building was complete in winter 1967, and the accelerator delivered in early 1968. Laboratory Floor-Plan 1968 Tandem Accelerator The last Thirty Years

A new generation of faculty members

Accomplishments

 1984-1988 Notre Dame-ANL BGO gamma array  1992-1998 TwinSol, radioactive beam facility  1995-2000 Canadian low energy accelerator  2003-2006 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry  2008-2013 5U Pelletron accelerator Santa Ana  2012-2017 CASPAR underground accelerator  2013-2018 St. George recoil separator  2016-2018 3MV tandem accelerator St. Andre From Ge-detector to Gammasphere

Umesh Garg joined faculty in 1983 to strengthen the spectroscopy group! He participated in development of the ANL-Notre Dame array and in Gammasphere, a

From ANL - Notre Dame Ge-BGO detector array to the Gammasphere multi-Ge detector array

he moved to magnetic spectrometer experiments to determine neutron matter and neutron star properties! Radioactive beam physics Radioactive beams have been a long term goal in the community! First attempts at OSU & LLNL failed, J.J. Kolata from Notre Dame and F. Becchetti from U. Michigan have been successful.

A pioneering instrument, which triggered research investments worldwide Low energy accelerators for Nuclear Astrophysics

M. Wiescher, Low energy radiative capture experiments 1986 for determining nuclear reactions rates in stars and stellar explosions From exotic quantal vibrations to

Ani Aprahamian, 1989 r-process nuclei Masses, rotation, vibration, deformation  Masses, decay . AMS Spectrometry

P. Collon, 2003 Now converted to a gas-filled 1970 mode for AMS work at the FN. From KN to St. ANA

25 scientific publications based on KN at Notre Dame (1998-2011) From DIANA to CASPAR

Move down instead of up!

DIANA, plans for the construction of a deep underground accelerator facility at SURF .

Ended in the construction of CASPAR From St. GEORGE to SECAR A new spectrometer design has been developed and has been installed at NSL. Pioneering design that led to the design of next generation SECAR at FRIB

and many other developments worldwide. Applied Nuclear Physics From Art to Materials

Trajan

Caracalla Advancing our Vision, six additional faculty positions

New faculty and growing number of graduate students in basic and applied nuclear physics for a long NSL future