Abstract: Nuclear reaction studies rely on three main physical components: the beam of nuclei provided by the facility, the detector systems used to measure the outgoing particles of interest, and the target. Target fabrication is thus a critical but often overlooked aspect of studying the reactions that power stars and probe the evolution of nuclear structure. The Jet Experiments in Nuclear Structure and Astrophysics (JENSA) gas jet target is the most dense helium jet target for rare isotope beam reaction studies in the world, providing targets of gaseous elements such as helium, nitrogen, and neon.
In this seminar, I will describe the design and operation of JENSA, including commissioning and recent science experiments, and discuss the future of JENSA coupled to the dedicated recoil separator SECAR.