An Active Target Time Projection Chamber for Nuclear Structure and Reactions Experiments

Time projection chambers (TPC) are powerful devices for studying charged particles produced in nuclear collisions. The high resolution and large angular acceptances of these devices permit 4 pi event reconstruction providing ample event characterization for nuclear structure and reaction experiments. In conjunction with a magnetic field, TPC's can be used to identify diverse particle species ranging from pions to light charged fragments in intermediate energy collisions. This particle identification capability is suitable for nuclear reactions studies of the density dependence of the symmetry energy in the nuclear equation of state. By varying the gas with which the detector chamber is filled, a TPC can be used as an active target in which the fill gas acts as both the target and detector. This will allow low threshold processes relevant to nuclear structure, fission and nuclear astrophysics to be studied in inverse kinematics. The scientific and technical plans for implementing an active target time projection chamber to be used with the radioactive ion beams at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory will be discussed.