The research area is nuclear structure physics. The basic idea is to create 'exotic' atomic nuclei in excited quantum states and study them with observables arising from their decay by detecting the emitted γ-ray and particle radiation. In this context, the word 'exotic' implies unusual if not new combinations of proton and neutron numbers - for instance, 'the mysterious substance called element 115'. The experimental observations are confronted with predictions based on contemporary nuclear structure models to advance the understanding of the many-body quantum system called 'atomic nucleus'. Here, close interaction with the theorists from the Division of Mathematical Physics is a long-standing asset.

Experiments are conducted at international large-scale particle accelerator facilities within international collaborations comprising typically 10 to 50 scientists. Tailored radiation detectors are developed, constructed, and tested in Lund. Subsequently they are exploited within experimental campaigns at existing and planned (European) research centers. For experiments led by our group, the comprehensive and complicated analysis of terabytes of experimental data is done in Lund. Some examples are outlined in more detail in the PhD and research projects. Summer 2020 we led an approximately two months long campaign at the ATLAS-GAMMASPHERE facility at Argonne National Laboratory, US, aiming at proton dripline studies in nuclei just above doubly-magic 56Ni.

Another highlight concerns the production, observation, and spectroscopy of 30 atomic nuclei of element 115, recently named moscovium. In October 2015 the group received a prestiguous grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation to ChaSE Lundium, and in June 2016 we hosted the Nobel Symposium NS160 - Chemistry and Physics of Heavy and Superheavy Elements.

In the context of the KAW project grant we are building one of the world's finest particle (α, β, or proton), X-ray and γ-ray coincidence spectroscopy set-up. A combination of first `Lundium' items, namely four composite and encapsulated `COMPEX' germanium detector modules together with an upgraded version of TASISpec were used for a spectroscopy experiment on flerovium, Z = 114, spectroscopy at GSI Darmstadt in 2019 and 2020. First results were published at the beginning of 2021 as a highlight in Physical Review Letters, accompanied by a Lund University press release.