Progress in research April 1, 1993--March 31, 1994, Texas A and M University Cyclotron Institute

The period 1 April 1993--31 March 1994 has seen a number of significant developments of the research program as will be noted by the large increase in individual projects reviewed in this annual report. Among the highlights of the K500 experimental program in Sections 1, 2, and 4 are the investigations of excitation energy deposition and of fission dynamics employing both GDR and particle emission probes, measurements of isospin equilibration, studies of (d, {sup 2}He) reactions with the proton spectrometer and of the {beta} decay of {sup 57}Cu with MARS, and the precise studies of ionic charge state distributions using x-ray measurements. Progress in theoretical studies of the nuclear spectral function and the decay of many body systems, on the properties of mesons in hot hadronic matter and on the determination of astrophysical S-factors from experimental studies of very peripheral reactions are presented in Section 3. The status of the LAMPF based MEGA experiment and of the CERN based NA66 experiment, both of which involve institute scientists, is also briefly presented in this report. The shift to a seven day a week operation coupled with installation of cryopanels and more careful temperature control of the cooling water system have resulted in significant improvements in the operational efficiency and beam capabilities. Operating statistics are presented in Section 5