hEaVy Element REsearch for nuclear, atomic and astrophysics STudies

The heaviest chemical elements of Mendeleev's table form an intriguing research laboratory of interest for nuclear, atomic and astro-physics. It is still challenging to predict their atomic and chemical properties, as well as to understand their making process in stars.
Therefore, it is imperative to study experimentally the heaviest atoms accessible in the laboratory and for the more exotic inaccessible ones to develop reliable nuclear and atomic models. The aim of this project is to perform precise laser-spectroscopy studies and fission experiments on the heaviest accessible atoms. Models will be improved and validated with the new data. These models will then be used to predict the nuclear structure of the heaviest elements produced in stellar explosions, perform r-process calculations and, combined with observational data, to estimate the age of stars.
Several research groups are involved in this projects, emerging from KUL (coordinator) and ULB: Michel Godefroid (Quantum Chemistry and Photophysics, Faculty of Sciences),Stéphane Goriely & Sophie Van Eck (Astronomy and Astrophysics Institute, Faculty of Sciences).
Dates
Created on August 13, 2018