Low energy nuclear physics with active targets and time projection chambers

Abstract This article aims at covering various themes that can benefit from taking advantage of active target time projection chambers. They are naturally oriented towards the study of short-lived radioactive nuclei, for which high efficiency and thick targets are necessary to boost the luminosity of the experiments due to the weak intensity of the available beams. The use of active target detectors is particularly crucial when the recoil energy of the kinematically important particle is small and looses too much energy or does not emerge from a solid target.