Structure of exotic nuclei. Nuclear moments of excited states

Magnetic moments of excited nuclear states are a unique probe of nuclear structure. Experimentally obtained values of magnetic moments are useful to constrain theoretical models. Measurements of magnetic moments in exotic nuclei are sensitive to how nuclear structure evolves far from the line of stability. Different experimental techniques have been developed to measure magnetic moments of excited states depending on their half-lives. The Time-Differential Recoil-In-Vacuum (TDRIV) method is applied on excited states with picosecond half-lives. For isomeric states with half-lives in the order of hundreds of nanoseconds a suitable method is the Time-Dependent Perturbed Angular Distribution (TDPAD) method. The main topic of this thesis relates to the application of these methods to measure magnetic moments of excited states in exotic nuclei through the use of radioactive ion beams (RIBs). The first application of the TDRIV method on a RIB is presented in the first part of the current work. The experiment to measure the magnetic moment of the $2^+_1$ state in $^{28}$Mg was performed at the MINIBALL setup at HIE-ISOLDE, CERN. The analysis of the obtained data is presented, alongside that of a calibration TDRIV measurement of the magnetic moment of the $2^+_1$ state in $^{22}$Ne. In the next part of the thesis the possibilities to extend the range of applicability of the TDRIV method to higher-Z nuclei is discussed. A charge state measurement of titanium ions was performed at JYFL, Finland, in preparation for a future experiment to determine the magnetic moment of the $2^+_1$ state in $^{46}$Ti. The analysis of the obtained data and simulations of the planned experiment are discussed. Finally, the magnetic moments of isomeric states around $^{68}$Ni were measured in an experiment at NSCL, MSU, USA, using the TDPAD method following a projectile-fragmentation reaction. A detailed account of the data analysis is provided and the obtained results are compared with shell-model calculations.