Research activities

The research activities carried out by the atomic physics and astrophysics unit benefit from a long experience in the study of electronic structures, radiative processes and collisional processes involving neutral to highly ionized atoms. Amongst the work carried out, the group has acquired a worldwide reputation in the modeling of complex atomic systems characterizing the heavy elements of the periodic table (typically beyond iron). These elements are of great interest in astrophysics because they allow the study of stellar nucleosynthesis, compact celestial objects or kilonovae resulting from neutron star mergers. They also play a particular role in plasma physics since some of these heavy elements are produced in nuclear fusion reactors and, consequently, the analysis of their spectra allows to diagnose the plasmas obtained by magnetic confinement or by inertial confinement.

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Our unit is also associated with the following UMONS research institutes :