Speaker
Description
The Neutron Skin (NS), which is a phenomenon of an increased neutron to proton density ratio in the periphery of neutron-rich nuclei, is a prominent probe of the nuclear equation of state, connecting nuclear physics and astrophysics. However, the theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of the NS in $^{208}$Pb have been contradictory. The PREX-II experiment resulted in a much higher value of NS thickness in $^{208}$Pb than previous experiments. Furthermore, it does not match theoretical predictions when considered simultaneously with the similar CREX $^{48}$Ca measurement. In this work, we present the results of Monte-Carlo simulations of the Mainz Radius EXperiment (MREX), which aims to benchmark the PREX-II result using the detector set-up of the P2 experiment at the forthcoming Mainz Energy-recovering Superconducting Accelerator (MESA). We explore the experimental set-up options and calculate the measuring time to match or double the PREX-II precision. These results confirm the feasibility of the $^{208}$Pb NS thickness measurement at MREX.
