Richard M. Prior, Ph.D.
Professional Information
Education
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. University of Florida
Jobs
Professor and Head of Physics, North Georgia College & State University
Professor and Chair of Physics, West Georgia College
Professor of Physics, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Post-Doc, University of Notre Dame
Current Activities
Teaching: Undergraduate physics, especially introductory and advanced laboratory development
Administrative: Department Head
Research: Low-energy nuclear physics (details below)
Research Interests
Since 1990 I have collaborated with physicists at Triangle Universities National Laboratory (TUNL) on the campus of Duke University. Dr. Mark Spraker of NGCSU is also part of this collaboration. Our primary activities have been studying nuclear reactions at very low energies (£ 160 keV). Reactions at these low energies are simpler to analyze and also are of interest in nuclear astrophysics. In particular, we study reactions induced by polarized proton or deuteron beams. Most of the studies have concentrated on radiative capture reactions in which gamma rays are produced. More recently, we have also studied reactions in which neutrons are produced.
In the past several years I have become increasingly involved with experiments at the High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIgS), located adjacent to TUNL at Duke University. HIgS is a unique facility that produces beams of nearly monoenergetic, polarized gamma rays that are tunable in energy from 2 MeV to over 150 MeV (when the current upgrade is completed). Experiments so far at the facility include the breakup of 2H and 3He by gamma rays, Compton scattering of gamma rays from 16O, parity determination by nuclear resonance fluorescence and development the experimental facilities.
Several students from NGCSU have gone to TUNL and worked on experiments there. Several of them have subsequently made presentations of their research at national meetings of the American Physical Society. There are currently six NGCSU physics graduates studying nuclear physics in graduate school at Duke University, Michigan State University, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Florida State University.
Since 1994 the U.S. Department of Energy has supported my research.
Recent Publications
A. Sabourov, M. W.
Ahmed, M. A. Blackston, A. S. Crowell, C. R. Howell, K. Joshi, S. O. Nelson, B.
A. Perdue, K. Sabourov, A. Tonchev, H. R. Weller, R. M. Prior, M. C. Spraker, B.
Braizinha, and N. Kalantar-Nayestanaki,
The 7Li(d,n0)8Be
and 7Li(d,n1)8Be
reactions below 160 keV, Phys. Rev. C
74, 064611 (2006).
J. E. McDonald, R. H. France III,
R. A. Jarvis, M. W. Ahmed, M. A. Blackston, Th. Delbar, M. Gai
, T. J. Kading, Y. Parpottas,
B. A. Perdue, R. M. Prior, D. F. Rubin,
M. C. Spraker, J. D. Yeomans, L.
Weissman, H. R. Weller
and E. L. Wilds Jr., In beam tests of
implanted helium targets,
JINST 1 P09003 (2006).
Y. Parpottas, M. W. Ahmed, M. A. Blackston, R. H. France III, B. A. Perdue, R. M. Prior, A. Sabourov, M. C. Spraker, and H. R. Weller, Astrophysical S factor for the 11B(d,n)12C reaction below 135 keV, Phys. Rev. C 74, 029903 (2006).
Sabourov A., M. W. Ahmed, M. A. Blackston, A. S. Crowell, C. R. Howell, B. A. Perdue, K. Sabourov, A. Tonchev, H. R. Weller, R. M. Prior, and M. C. Spraker, Astrophysical S factor for the 7Li(d,n0)8Be and 7Li(d,n1)8Be reactions, Phys. Rev. C 73, 015801 (2006).
Sabourov, K., M. Ahmed, S. R. Canon, B. Crowley, K. Joshi, J. H. Kelley, S. O. Nelson, B. A. Perdue, E. C. Schreiber, A. Sabourov, A. Tonchev, H. R. Weller, E. A. Wulf, R. M. Prior, M. C. Spraker, H. M. Hofmann and M. Trini, , Experimental and theoretical study of the 2H(d,g)4He reaction below Ec.m.= 60 keV, Phys. Rev. C 70, 064601 (2004).
Perdue, B. A., M. W. Ahmed, A. P. Tonchev, H. R. Weller, G. Feldman, V. N. Litvinenko, I. V. Pinayev, B. E. Norum, R. M. Prior, M. C. Spraker and B. D. Sawatsky, Compton scattering of polarized g-rays by 16O for Eg = 25-40 MeV, Phys. Rev. C 70, 064305 (2004).
Prior, R. M., M. C. Spraker, A. M. Amthor, K. J. Keeter, S. O. Nelson, A.Sabourov, K. Sabourov, A. Tonchev, M. Ahmed, J. H. Kelley, D. R. Tilley, H. R. Weller and H. M. Hofmann, Energy dependence of the astrophysical S factor for the 6Li(p,g)7Be reaction, Phys. Rev. C 70, 055801 (2004).
Fransen, C., N. Pietralla, A. P. Tonchev, M. W. Ahmed, J. Chen, G. Feldman, U. Kneissl, J. Li, V. N. Litvinenko, B. Perdue, I. V. Pinayev, H. H. Pitz, R. Prior, K. Sabourov, M. Spraker, W. Tornow, H. R. Weller, V. Werner, Y. K. Wu, and S. W. Yates, Parity assignments to strong dipole excitations of 92Zr and 96Mo, Phys. Rev. C 70, 044317 (2004).
Nelson, S. O., M. W. Ahmed, B. A. Perdue, K. Sabourov, A. L. Sabourov, A. P. Tonchev, R. M. Prior, M. Spraker, and H. R. Weller, Analyzing power measurement for the 14N(p,g)15O reaction at astrophysically relevant energies, Phys. Rev. C 68, 065804 (2003).
THIS PAGE IS NOT A PUBLICATION OF NORTH GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY AND NGCSU HAS NOT EDITED OR EXAMINED THE CONTENT. THE AUTHOR OF THE PAGE IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT.
