Miranda Nichols is from Detroit, Michigan, US. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Purdue University where she studied medical physics. She specialized in magnetic resonance physics and was involved in both the development and application of MRI/MRS techniques.
Having always been interested in experimental and fundamental physics, Miranda decided to change her field to atomic physics. The LISA program fit her background of radiation physics well while providing the challenge of entering a new discipline. She hopes that her research with actinides can pave the way for more fundamental discoveries about the atomic structures of these elements. These discoveries have the ability to open doors for medical and environmental developments in the future.
In addition to her new endeavors in physics, she is looking forward to the challenge of keeping houseplants alive during the dark Swedish winters and drinking copious amounts of coffee. She is also an enthusiast of functional exercise, going to the sauna, reading and European public transportation.
A new beamline will be constructed at the CRIS experiment at the online facility ISOLDE (CERN) where the Gothenburg anion detector for affinity measurements by laser photodetachment (GANDALPH) will be installed. This new beamline will be used to measure electron affinities (EA) of actinides, elements for which few experimental EAs have been determined. The system can in the future be used to measure EAs of any isotope that can be produced at the ISOLDE on-line facility.
The group plans to build a unique facility for studies of EAs of radioactive isotopes and in particular, actinides. So far, the only EA of a radioactive isotope measured has been I-128. The EA measurement of the radioactive element, astatine followed. The next radioactive element EA to be measured will be on polonium with an expected EA of 1.4 eV. Among the first of the actinides to be studied will be thorium, where the relatively large expected EA of 1.2 eV will make it comparatively easy to study. Furthermore, the photodetachment threshold is accessible using commercially available lasers. Thereafter, attempts to measure the EA of uranium (expected to be 0.55 eV) and actinium (expected to be 0.35 eV) will be made. The results of these measurements will be compared with corresponding theoretical work in order to obtain an increased understanding of atomic structure of the actinides.
This Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) receives funding from the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme under grant agreement no. 861198