SAHA INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS
Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India
The Nuclear Physics Division constitutes researchers working in nuclear reactions and structure physics and associated developmental projects. One of the major activities of the division is centered around the development of Facility for research in Low Energy Astrophysics (FRENA).
At SINP, research in the Nuclear Sciences has its genesis in the activities pioneered and led by Prof. Meghnad Saha in 1940. A journey which started around the design and development of a small cyclotron and measurement of fission cross-section of 235U by a limited number of dedicated workers, has traversed a long path in exploring the secrets of atoms, nuclei and molecules by using, at present, the state of the art techniques and involving different groups of people spread across the country. A 14.8 MeV neutron generator was also successfully installed in the Institute during this period. The initial efforts in nuclear physics research which started with the small cyclotron and the 14.8 MeV generator got a fillip with the installation of the Variable Energy Cyclotron at VECC, Kolkata. With the availability of energetic alpha-particle beams from the Variable Energy Cyclotron in the 1980s, and the advent of high-resolution germanium detectors, nuclear spectroscopic investigations of the structure of a number of nuclei across the periodic table were undertaken to study the nuclear excitation mechanism. Study of nucleon-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus reaction mechanisms was undertaken. A qualitative as well as quantitative jump in this research field took place in 1990s with the installation of various Pelletron facilities capable of delivering different species of energetic heavy-ions around the country and the availability of large gamma- and charge-particle arrays at different accelerator centers.
The present day nuclear physics experiments are primarily based on accelerator facilities, both national and international. Both stable and unstable beams are used to understand the structure of the nuclei and different reaction mechanisms. Most of these studies are carried out in the form of national / international collaborations with the world-leading nuclear physics experimental facilities.
·Primarily work in Accelerator based Nuclear Physics (In-Beam gamma spectroscopy and Reaction studies) using National and International Accelerator Facilities
•Study of Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Reaction utilizing gamma spectroscopic techniques as well as charged particle detection.
•Active participation in Indian National Gamma Array (INGA) collaboration
•Active participation in International Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facilities
