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Kawabata Lab (Nuclear Experiment)
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A nuclear experiment lab that uses accelerators to study the structure of unstable nuclei.
AboutAbout the lab
Probing atomic nuclei with accelerators to explore the origin of matter
The Kawabata Group studies the cluster structure of atomic nuclei, the structure of unstable nuclei, and related topics through experiments using accelerators.
The Nuclear Experiment Lab as a whole investigates extremely rare phenomena inside atomic nuclei, as well as proton-rich and neutron-rich nuclei that do not exist in nature. It explores the properties of atomic nuclei as quantum many-body systems and the origin of the matter that makes up the universe.
The faculty are divided into a nuclear structure subgroup and a nuclear matter subgroup. The latter studies the structure of unstable nuclei using nuclear reaction cross sections and nuclear moments.
The lab's website introduces the Nuclear Experiment Lab as a whole, including groups such as the Itahashi Group.
Key terms
- unstable nucleus
- A rare atomic nucleus in which the balance between the numbers of protons and neutrons is disrupted.
- alpha condensed state
- A state in which helium-4 nuclei are condensed into the lowest-energy state. Its density is thought to be about one fifth that of ordinary atomic nuclei.
- triple-alpha reaction
- A nuclear reaction that produces carbon-12 from three helium-4 nuclei.
NewsLab news
Assistant Professor Akane Sakaue received the 20th Young Scientist Award of the Physical Society of Japan and the 32nd Newcomer Award of the Nuclear Physics Colloquium
An undergraduate student received the Osaka University School of Science Award
An undergraduate student received the Student Presentation Award at the 2026 Spring Meeting of the Physical Society of Japan
Assistant Professor Akane Sakaue received the fiscal 2025 RIKEN Ohbu Award
A doctoral student received a Poster Award at RIBF Users Meeting 2026
ResearchResearch themes
The lab explains that the makeup of atomic nuclei is directly tied to the makeup of matter in the universe, and that nuclear physics is a field that explores the roots of matter. This lab investigates extremely rare phenomena inside atomic nuclei and proton-rich and neutron-rich nuclei that do not exist in nature, aiming to elucidate the origin of the matter that makes up the universe.
*Illustrative imageSearch for Cluster States in Atomic Nuclei
The lab searches for exotic states in which several nucleons are strongly correlated and form clusters. The alpha condensed state, predicted in nuclei such as carbon-12, has not yet been confirmed experimentally. The lab is developing the MAIKo active target at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, to search for it.
*Illustrative imageElucidating Nucleosynthesis in the Universe
The elements in today's universe were produced by nuclear reactions over the history of the universe. The lab is working on measuring, at high temperatures, the reaction rate of the triple-alpha reaction, one of the most important nucleosynthesis reactions in the universe.
*Illustrative imageElucidating the Structure of Unstable Nuclei
It is becoming clear that unstable nuclei with extremely large numbers of protons or neutrons have structures different from those of nuclei near stability. Using various unstable nuclear beams, the lab studies their structure with gamma-ray nuclear spectroscopy, conducting experiments at RIKEN, TRIUMF in Canada, and the Research Center for Nuclear Physics.
*Illustrative imageProbing Nuclear Structure with Nuclear Reaction Cross Sections and Nuclear Moments
For unstable nuclei, the lab measures the collision probability between nuclei and their electromagnetic moments. This gives information on proton and neutron distributions, nuclear radii, and nucleon orbitals, which is used to study nuclear structure. In neutron-rich nuclei, the radius of the neutron distribution is thought to be slightly larger than that of the protons, and the extent of this difference is deeply related to the structure of neutron stars.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nuclear Experiment Lab consist of faculty, technical assistants, secretaries, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and collaborators.As of 2026
- ProfessorTakahiro Kawabata
- Associate ProfessorAtsuko Odahara
- Assistant ProfessorMototsugu Mihara
- Assistant ProfessorAkane Sakaue
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Wu experiment at Bureau of Standards” A. V. Astin, Director, Bureau of Standards / Public domain (cropped)
- Search for Cluster States in Atomic Nuclei: “Cyclotron ARRONAX” Popocatomar / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Elucidating Nucleosynthesis in the Universe: “Vela supernova - VST - Eso2214a” (Credit) ESO/TIMER survey / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Elucidating the Structure of Unstable Nuclei: “Nuclear physics instruments” Unnerving duck / CC0 (cropped)
- Probing Nuclear Structure with Nuclear Reaction Cross Sections and Nuclear Moments: “Institute of nuclear and particle physics 00048 REP SDR-62 (0659)” DimitrisSideridis / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (〈原子核実験 核物質サブグループ〉): “PRIME lab Van de Graaff accelerator” Patrick Finnegan / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (原子核実験 核物質サブグループ（福田 光順）
): “VEP-1 collider” Eto shorcy / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (板橋グループ（原子核実験）
): “ZEUS-Detektor 3D-Grafik” DESY-Kommunikation / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (民井グループ（基礎原子核物理グループ）
): “ZEUS-Detektor” DESY-Kommunikation / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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