Ani Aprahamian Research Group

University of Notre Dame

How do changes in nuclear structure alter element production in stellar explosions and neutron-capture processes? The group investigates the evolution of nuclear structure and its effects on nuclear masses, shapes, and decay lifetimes to understand heavy element nucleosynthesis. Researchers carry out experiments at the Nuclear Science Laboratory at Notre Dame and at international accelerator facilities to measure masses, decay lifetimes, and reaction rates. The team studies how nuclear reactions and weak interactions set time-scales and energy release in stellar environments to connect nuclear properties with astrophysical observables. Experiments combine measurements of decay lifetimes, masses, and reaction cross sections to constrain models of rapid neutron-capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis.