The clustering of nucleons in nuclei is a widespread but elusive phenomenon for study. Here, we wish to highlight the variety of theoretical approaches, and demonstrate how they are mutually supportive and complementary. On the experimental side, we
describe recent advances in the study of the classic cluster nucleus 24Mg. Also, recent studies of clustering in nuclei approaching the neutron drip line are described. In the region near N/Z=2, both theory and experiment now suggest that multi-centre cluster structure is important, in particular for the very neutron rich beryllium isotopes.
A general experimental technique for high resolution studies of nucleon transfer reactions using radioactive beams is briefly described, together with the first new physics results that have been obtained with the new TIARA array. These first results
from TIARA are for the reaction 24Ne(d,p)25Ne, studied in inverse kinematics with a pure radioactive beam of 100,000 pps from the SPIRAL facility at GANIL. The reaction probes the energies of neutron orbitals relevant to very neutron rich nuclei in this mass region and the results highlight the emergence of the N=16 magic number for neutrons and the associated disappearance of the N=20 neutron magic number for the very neutron rich neon isotopes.
