NEW APPLICATIONS OF ATOMIC PHYSICS TO THE STUDY OF NUCLEAR PROPERTIES

The hyperfine interaction couples the atomic electrons and the nucleus , and because of this interaction, there is a fundamental link between the fields of atomic physics and nuclear physics. Of course, informat ion flows in both directions through this link. This paper reviews in broad terms the previous applications of atomic physics methods to the study of nuclear properties and fundamental interactions, and then fo cuses on the possible applications of atom trapping methods to nuclear physics problems.