The production of single photons in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN SPS as measured by the WA98 experiment is analysed. A quark gluon plasma is assumed to be formed initially, which expands, cools, hadronizes, and undergoes freeze-out. A rich hadronic equation of state is used and the transverse expansion of the interacting system is taken into account. The recent estimates of photon production in quark-matter (at two loop level) along with the dominant reactions in the hadronic matter leading to photons are used. About half of the radiated photons are seen to have a thermal origin. The same treatment and the initial conditions provide a very good description to hadronic spectra measured by several groups and the intermediate mass dileptons measured by the NA50 experiment, lending a strong support to the conclusion that quark gluon plasma has been formed in these collisions. Predictions for RHIC and LHC energies are also given.

Rather than regarding the restriction of current lattice QCD simulations to quark masses that are 5–10 times larger than those observed as a problem, we note that this presents a wonderful opportunity to deepen our understanding of QCD. Just as it has been possible to learn a great deal about QCD by treating N_c as a variable, so the study of hadron properties as a function of quark mass is leading us to a deeper appreciation of hadron structure. As examples we cite progress in using the chiral properties of QCD to connect hadron masses, magnetic moments, charge radii and structure functions calculated at large quark masses within lattice QCD with the values observed physically.

Experimental data on masses and lifetimes of unstable particles falls into a pattern, a brief review of some interesting consequences is presented here. From the experience in semiclassical methods and recent advances in quantum chromodynamics, it is proposed that an appropriate generalization of the Gutzwiller trace formula for field theories may lead to a systematic semiclassical chromodynamics theory. The theory can be developed to get appropriate dynamics leading to an explanation of pattern discovered in the empirical data.

The heavy-ion programme at the CERN SPS, which started back in ’86, has produced a wealth of very interesting and intriguing results in the quest for the quark-gluon plasma. The highlights of the programme on dilepton and direct photon measurements are reviewed emphasizing the most recent results obtained in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV. Prospects from RHIC are discussed.

Results from the multiplicity distributions of inclusive photons and charged particles, scaling of particle multiplicities, event-by-event multiplicity fluctuations, and charged-neutral fluctuations in 158A GeV Pb+Pb collisions are presented and discussed. A scaling of charged particle multiplicity as N_part^1.07±0.05 and photos as N_part^1.12±0.03 have been observed, indicating violation of naive wounded nucleon model. The analysis of localized charged-neutral fluctuation indicates a model-independent demonstration of non-statistical fluctuations in both charged particles and photons in limited azimuthal regions. However, no correlated charged-neutral fluctuations are observed.

A systematic analysis of the multifragmentation (MF) in fully reconstructed events from 1A GeV Au, La and Kr collisions with C has been performed. Detailed comparisons of the various fragment properties are presented as a function of excitation energy, E*_th. The charged particle multiplicity from MF stage shows a saturation beyond E*_th ∼ 8 MeV/nucleon for Kr. The universal behavior of intermediate mass fragment yields and of the size of the largest fragment is observed only for Au and La when scaled with size of the system. The Kr data are found to lack this property. Moments of the fragment size distribution show that the Kr MF is different than the MF of Au and La. A power law behavior is observed for Au and La with exponent τ>2, while for Kr τ<2. The results are compared with the statistical multifragmentation model (SMM). A single value of all the parameters of the model fits the data for all the three systems. The breakup of Au and La is consistent with a continuous phase transition. The data indicate that both E*_th and the isotope ratio temperature T_Hc-DT decrease with increase in system size at the critical point. The breakup temperature obtained from SMM also shows the same trend as seen in data. This trend is attributed primarily to the increasing Coulomb energy with finite size effects playing a smaller role. The percolation and Ising model studies for finite size neutral matter show behavior which is opposite to the one seen in the present work.

A review of various calculations of the inclusive quasi-elastic reactions and pion production processes in neutrino reactions for various nuclei at intermediate energies relevant to solar, atmospheric and accelerator neutrinos is presented

It is expected that at very large densities and/or temperatures a quark-hadron phase transition takes place. Lattice QCD calculations at zero baryon density indicate that the transition occurs at T_c ∼ 150–170 MeV. The transition is likely to be second order or a cross over phenomenon. Although not much is known about the density at which the phase transition takes place at small temperatures, it is expected to occur around the nuclear densities of few times nuclear matter density. Also, there is a strong reason to believe that the quark matter formed after the phase transition is in colour superconducting phase. The matter densities in the interior of neutron stars being larger than the nuclear matter density, the neutron star cores may possibly consist of quark matter which may be formed during the collapse of supernova. Starting with the assumption that the quark matter, when formed consists of predominantly u and d quarks, we consider the evolution of s quarks by weak interactions in the present work. The reaction rates and time required to reach the chemical equilibrium are computed here. Our calculations show that the chemical equilibrium is reached in about 10⁻⁷ seconds. Further more during the equilibration process enormous amont of energy is released and copious numbers of neutrinos are produced. Implications of these on the evolution of supernovae will be discussed.

We investigate the effect on the nuclear matter equation of state (EOS) due to modification of meson and nucleon parameters in nuclear medium as a consequence of partial restoration of chiral symmetry. To get the EOS, we have used Brueckner-Bethe-Golstone formalism with Bonn-B potential as two-body interaction and QCD sum rule and Brown-Rho scaling prescriptions for modification of hadron parameters. We find that EOS is very much sensitive to the meson parameters. We can fit, with two body interaction alone, both the saturation density and the binding energy per nucleon.

Ultrarelativisitc heavy ion physics is entering the new era of collider experiments with the start-up of RHIC at BNL and construction for detectors at LHC well under way. At this cross-roads, the article will give a summary of the experimental program and our current view of heavy ion physics at the LHC, concentrating in particular on physics topics that are different or unique compared to current facilities.

The PHENIX experiment consists of a large detector system located at the newly commissioned relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The primary goal of the PHENIX experiment is to look for signatures of the QCD prediction of a deconfined high-energy-density phase of nuclear matter quark gluon plasma. PHENIX started data taking for Au+Au collisions at √sNN=130 GeV in June 2000. The signals from the beam-beam counter (BBC) and zero degree calorimeter (ZDC) are used to determine the centrality of the collision. A Glauber model reproduces the ZDC spectrum reasonably well to determine the participants in a collision. Charged particle multiplicity distribution from the first PHENIX paper is compared with the other RHIC experiment and the CERN, SPS results. Transverse momentum of photons are measured in the electro-magnetic calorimeter (EMCal) and preliminary results are presented. Particle identification is made by a time of flight (TOF) detector and the results show clear separation of the charged hadrons from each other.

This is a brief report on recent studies of nuclear responses for neutrinos (v) by charge exchange reactions, v masses by double beta (ββ) decays and of solar and supernova v’s by inverse β decays. Subjects discussed include (1) v studies in nuclear micro-laboratories, (2) v masses studied by ββ decays of ¹⁰⁰Mo and nuclear responses for ββ — v, (3) solar and supernova v’s by inverse β decays and v responses for ⁷¹Ga and ¹⁰⁰Mo, and (4) MOON (molybdenum observatory of neutrinos) for spectroscopic studies of Majorana v masses with sensitivity of m_v ∼ 0.03 eV by ββ decays of ¹⁰⁰Mo and real-time studies of low energy solar and supernova v’s by inverse β decays of ¹⁰⁰Mo.

We briefly review concept of the quark recombination (QRC) model and a general success of the model. To solve the existing problem, so called anomalous spin observables, in the high energy hyperon spin phenomena, we propose a mechanism; the primarily produced quarks, which are predominantly u and d quarks, act as the leading partons to form the hyperons. Extension of the quark recombination concept with this mechanism is successful in providing a good account of the anomalous spin observables. Another kind of anomaly, the non-zero analysing power and spin depolarization in the Λ hyperon productions, are also discussed and well understood by the presently proposed mechanism. Recently, a further difficulty was observed in an exclusive ΛK⁺p production and wel will indicate a possible diagram for resolving it.

We report on a study of the proton induced hyperon production reactions. We discuss the theoretical efforts made towards understanding the existing data and the uncertainties involved in the calculations. Our recent calculations of the missing mass spectra for the pp → K⁺ Λp reaction which involve a proper coupled channel treatment of the final state Λp interaction are presented. Significant differences in the results using different models of the hyperon-nucleon interaction are found.

Total and differential cross sections for the reactions p + d → ³He + m⁰ with m=π, η and p + d → ³H+π⁺ were measured with the GEM detector at COSY for beam momenta between threshold and the maximum of the corresponding baryon resonance. For both reactions a strong forward-backward asymmetry was found. The data were compared with model calculations. The aspect of isospin symmetry breaking is studied.

In this talk we briefly describe some basic elements of chiral perturbation theory, xPT, and how the implementation of unitarity and other novel elements lead to a better expansion of the T-matrix for meson-meson and meson-baryon interactions. Applications are then done to the ππ interaction in nuclear matter in the scalar and vector channels, antikaons in nuclei and K⁻ atoms, and how the φ meson properties are changed in a nuclear medium.

We review the current status of high energy exclusive processes and color transparency.

Optimum nuclear parton distributions are obtained by analysing available experimental data on electron and muon deep inelastic scattering (DIS). The distributions are given at Q²=1 GeV² with a number of parameters, which are determined by a X² analysis of the data. Valencequark distributions are relatively well determined at medium x, but they are slightly dependent on the assumed parametrization form particularly at small x. Although antiquark distributions are shadowed at small x, their behavior is not obvious at medium x from the F₂ data. The gluon distributions could not be restricted well by the inclusive DIS data; however, the analysis tends to support the gluon shadowing at small x. We provide analytical expressions and computer subroutines for calculating the nuclear parton distributions, so that other researchers could use them for applications to other high-energy nuclear reactions.

The present paper deals with the investigation of hot GDR and quadrupole shapes of ^106,120Sn isotopes as a function of temperature and spin utilizing cranked quadrupole-quadrupole model interaction hamlitonian in the linear response theory and static path approximation to the grand canonical partition function.

New highly exclusive experiments in the field of formation and decay of composite systems in heavy ion reactions are presented. Dynamical effects are reviewed in the light of recent works on the role of the N/Z asymmetry between projectile and target. The possibility of extracting directly from the experimental data the emission barrier of alpha particles emitted from highly excited nuclei is discussed. Finally, the first experimental evidence of double giant resonance excitation in fusion-evaporation reaction is presented.

The quantum mechanical fragmentation theory (QMFT), given for the cold synthesis of new and superheavy elements, is reviewed and the use of radioactive nuclear beams (RNB) and targets (RNT) is discussed. The QMFT is a complete theory of cold nuclear phenomena, namely, the cold fission, cold fusion and cluster radioactivity. Also, the structure calculations based on the axially deformed relativistic mean field (DRMF) approach are presented which predict new regions of spherical magicity, namely Z=120 and N=172 or 184, for superheavy nuclei. This result is discussed in the light of recent experiments reporting the cold synthesis of Z=118 element.

Recent improvements in the intensities and optical qualities of radioactive beams have made possible the study of elastic and inelastic proton scattering on unstable nuclei. The design and performances of an innovative silicon strip detector array devoted to such experiments are described. The quality of the data obtained are illustrated with recent results obtained at the GANIL facility for unstable oxygen, sulfur and argon isotopes. Methods to analyse the data using phenomenological and microscopic optical model potentials are discussed.

The quasiparticle representation of the phonon darnping model (PDM) is developed to include the superfluid pairing correlations microscopically. The formalism is applied to calculate the photoabsorption and the electromagnetic (EM) differential cross sections of E1 excitations in neutron-rich oxygen and calcium isotopes. The calculated photoabsorption cross sections agree reasonably well with the available data for ^16,18O and ^40,48Ca. The results of calculations show that the change of the fraction of the E1 integrated strength in the region of pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) as a function of mass number A with increasing neutron number N is in agreement with the recent experimental data, and does not follow the prediction by the simple cluster model. The EM differential cross sections obtained within PDM in this work show prominent PDR peaks below 15 MeV for ^20,22O in agreement with the recent experimental observation. It is also shown that, using low-energy RI beams at around 50–60 MeV/nucleon, one can observe clean and even enhanced PDR peaks without the admixture with the GDR in the EM differential cross sections of neutron-rich nuclei.

The essential aspect of contemporary physics is to understand properties of nucleonic matter that constitutes the world around us. Over the years research in nuclear physics has provided strong guidance in understanding the basic principles of nuclear interactions. But, the scenario of nuclear physics changed drastically as the new generation of accelerators started providing more and more rare isotopes, which are away from the line of stability. These weakly bound nuclei are found to exhibit new forms of nuclear matter and unprecedented exotic behaviour. The low breakup thresholds of these rare nuclei are posing new challenges to both theory and experiments. Fortunately, nature has provided a few loosely bound stable nuclei that have been studied thoroughly for decades Attempts are being made to find a consistent picture for the unstable nuclei starting from their stable counterparts. Some significant differences in the structure and reaction mechanisms are found.

Recent experimental programs at RIKEN concerning RI beams are reviewed. RIKEN has the ring cyclotron (RRC) with high intense heavy-ion beams and large acceptance fragment separator, RIPS. The complex can provide high intense RI-beams. By using the high intense RI-beams, a variety of experiments have been done. Recently, nuclear structure for unstable nuclei has been paid much attention. In special, disappearance and appearance of magic numbers are discussed experimentally and theoretically. Thus, in this review, related experiments concerning disappearance and appearance of magic numbers are described. Finally, future project in RIKEN, RI-beam factory. is introduced briefly.

Coulomb breakup of neutron-rich nuclei around mass A ∼ 20 has been studied experimentally using secondary beams (∼ 500–600 MeV/u) of unstable nuclei produced at GSI. The spectroscopic factor deduced for the neutron occupying s_1/2 level in ¹⁵C ground state is consistent with the earlier reported value. The data analysis for Coulomb breakup of ¹⁷C shows that most of the cross section yields the ¹⁶C core in its excited state. For ^17–22O, the low-lying E1 strength amounts up to about 12% of the energy weighted dipole sum rule strength depending on neutron excess. The cluster sum rule limit with ¹⁶O as a core is almost exhausted for ^17,18O, while for more neutron rich isotopes the strength with respect to that limit decreases.

The talk presents the current status and the perspectives of the relativistic mean field (RMF) description of various nuclear properties. Some remarkable successful applications of RMF to several different class of nuclear properties are first sketched in a short list. Three selective applications of RMF to the:

unordered

with different motivations, are discussed in detail. The talk ends with a partial list of possible future directions.

We review the current status of the nuclear matter (N=Z and no Coulomb interaction) incompressibility coefficient, K_nm, and describe the theoretical and the experimental methods used to determine K_nm from properties of compression modes in nuclei. In particular we consider the long standing problem of the conflicting results obtained for K_nm, deduced from experimental data on excitation cross sections for the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR) and data for the isoscalar giant dipole resonance (ISGDR).

Nuclei have complex energy-level sequence with statistical properties in agreement with canonical random matrix theory. This agreement appears when the one-particle one-hole states are mixed completely with two-particle two-hole states. In the transition, there is a new universality which we present here, bringing about a relation between dynamics and statistics. We summarize also the role of chaos in thermalization and dissipation in isolated systems like nuclei. The methods used to bring forth this understanding emerge from random matrix theory, semiclassical physics, and the theory of dynamical systems.

Nuclear fission process involves large scale shape changes of the nucleus, while it evolves from a nearly spherical configuration to two separated fission fragments. The dynamics of these shape changes in the nuclear many body system is governed by a strong interplay of the collective and single particle degrees of freedom. With the availability of heavy ion accelerators, there has been an impetus to study the nuclear dynamics through the investigations of nucleus-nucleus collisions involving fusion and fission process. From the various investigations carried out in the past years, it is now well recognized that there is large scale damping of collective modes in heavy ion induced fission reactions, which in other words implies that nuclear motion is highly viscous. In recent years, there have been many experimental observations in heavy ion induced fission reactions at medium bombarding energies, which suggest possible occurrence of various non-equilibrium modes of fission such as quasi-fission, fast fission and pre-equilibrium fission, where some of the internal degrees of freedom of the nucleus is not fully equilibrated. We have carried out extensive investigations on the fission fragment angular distributions at near barrier bombarding energies using heavy fissile targets. The measured fragment anisotropies when compared with the standard saddle point model (SSPM) calculations show that for projectile-target systems having zero or low ground state spins, the angular anisotropy exhibits a peak-like behaviour at the sub barrier energies, which cannot be explained by the SSPM calculations. For projectiles or targets with large ground state spins, the anomalous peaking gets washed out due to smearing of the K-distribution by the intrinsic entrance channel spins. Recently studies have been carried out on the spin distributions of fission fragments through the gamma ray multiplicity measurements. The fission fragments acquire spin mainly from two sources: (i) due to rigid rotation of the nascent fragments at scission and (ii) due to statistical excitation of the spin bearing collective modes in the fissioning nucleus. One of the collective modes — the tilting mode depends on the K quantum number and is responsible for the emission angle dependence of fragment spin. In our studies, we have shown conclusively that the collective statistical spin modes get strongly suppressed for high K values corresponding to large rotational frequencies along the fission axis. These results bring out the importance of the dynamical effects in the heavy ion induced fusion-fission reactions. The present article will review the work carried out on the above aspects in heavy ion fission reactions as well as on the fission time scales, and some of the recent studies on the mass-energy correlations of fission fragments at near-barrier bombarding energies.

Neutron spectrometry provides many branches of science and technology with the necessary data. Usually the main part of the data is supplied by powerful neutron time-of-flight spectrometers. Nevertheless there are many other very effective but simpler and cheaper neutron spectroscopy methods on accelerators, suitable for solution of plenty of scientific and applied problems (for example, in astrophysics and radioactive waste transmutation). The methods of slowing-down spectrometry in lead and graphite, generating of neutron spectra, characteristic for nucleosynthesis in the stars, and neutron spectrometry by means of primary γ-transition shift are discussed in the report.

The deformed mean field of nuclei exhibits various geometrical and dynamical symmetries which manifest themselves as various types of rotational and decay patterns. Most of the symmetry operations considered so far have been defined for a situation wherein the angular momentum coincides with one of the principal axes and the principal axis cranking may be invoked. New possibilities arise with the observation of rotational features in weakly deformed nuclei and now interpreted as magnetic rotational bands. More than 120 MR bands have now been identified by filtering the existing data. We present a brief overview of these bands. The total angular momentum vector in such bands is tilted away from the principal axes. Such a situation gives rise to several new possibilities including breaking of chiral symmetry as discussed recently by Frauendorf. We present the outcome of such symmetries and their possible experimental verification. Some possible examples of chiral bands are presented.

The Project SPES (study and production of exotic nuclei) aims at the full design of a facility based on a 100 MeV, 1–30 mA CW proton Linac used for production of fission fragments from a uranium like target by means of a neutron converter. Neutron rich ion species are extracted, selected, further ionized at high charge state, isotopically purified and then accelerated through a superconducting Linac at energies up to 20 MeV/A. SPES represents INFN’s effort in view of the construction of the European next generation ISOL-type facility, which is expected to be operative by 2010. A conceptual design report of such a European facility is being prepared with the support of the European Commission. R&D activities, covering the most critical parts of the facility, have been partially started in the last two years, triggered by the French-Italian feasibility study of an accelerator driven system for waste transmutation.

The folded tandem ion accelerator (FOTIA) project at BARC has been commissioned. The analysed carbon beams of 40 nA(3⁺) and 25 nA(4⁺), at terminal voltage of 2.5 MV with N₂ + CO₂ as insulating gas, were obtained. The beams were characterized by performing the Rutherford back scattering (RBS) on gold, tin and iron targets. The beam energy of 12.5 MeV for ¹²C⁴⁺ was consistent with the terminal voltage of 2.5 MV. The N₂ + CO₂ mixture is being replaced by SF₆ gas in order to achieve 6 MV on the terminal. In this paper, some of the salient features of the FOTIA and its present status are discussed.

We are in the process of constructing a superconducting linear accelerator (LINAC), to boost the energy of heavy ion beams from the 14UD Pelletron accelerator, at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The accelerating structures in the LINAC are quarter wave resonators (QWR) coated with lead which is superconducting at liquid helium temperature. With feasibility studies having been completed during the course of the 4th and 5th five-year plan periods, culminating with the demonstration of beam acceleration using one accelerating module, the construction of the LINAC is now under way.

There has been significant progress in the programme to develop a superconducting linear accelerator as a booster for the Pelletron accelerator at the Nuclear Science Centre. This paper presents the current status of the development in all the major components of the accelerator.

This is a brief summary of the ISNP2K (International Symposium on Nuclear Physics, 2000). Many interesting works were presented on new developments and perspectives of nuclear physics in the plenary and poster sessions. Subjects discussed are 1) high temperature and high density nuclei, new QGP phases and relativistic HI collisions, 2) new degrees of freedoms studied by medium energy reactions, 3) exotic nuclei with large isospin, large A, high J and high E_x, 4) new dynamical properties of many body nucleon systems, 5) neutrino nuclear physics and neutrons for astroparticle physics, and 6) new accelerators and new applications. ISNP2K with extensive discussions on nuclear physics frontiers at the turning point from 2000 to 2001 provides a good bridge to the new century.