THE SINGLE-PARTICLE STRUCTURE OF NEUTRON-RICH NUCLEI OF ASTROPHYSICAL INTEREST AT THE ORNL HRIBF

The rapid nuetron-capture process (r process) produces roughly half of the elements heavier than iron. The path and abundances produced are uncertain, however, because of the lack of nuclear strucure information on important neutron-rich nuclei. We are studying nuclei on or near the r-process path via single-nucleon transfer reactions on neutron-rich radioactive beams at ORNL's Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF). Owing to the difficulties in studying these reactions in inverse kinematics, a variety of experimental approaches are being developed. We present the experimental methods and initial results.