Nuclear Structure Studies at the Future FAIR facility

This article is intended to be an introduction to studies of nuclear structure at the future FAIR facility. It addresses interested readers not necessarily expert in the field. It outlines the physics aims and experiments to be carried out at FAIR in the field of nuclear structure and astrophysics. Starting with a brief description of what can be achieved in experiments with intense, high quality stable beams the article leads the reader to how beams of unstable radioactive nuclei will be produced and exploited at FAIR. The characteristics of the beams from the main separation device, the Super‐FRS, are outlined and the limitations they impose on experiment are discussed. The various setups at the three experimental branches associated with the Super‐FRS are described. The aims of the various experimental setups, how they complement each other and the physics they will address are all explained. The concept of the r‐process of nucleosynthesis is outlined at the beginning and used as a running example of how useful it will be to be able to carry out experiments with beams of short‐lived, exotic ions.