CAREER: Unravelling the Strong Interaction with High-Energy Nuclear Scattering

职业生涯：揭示高能核散射的强相互作用

• 批准号: 2239274
• 负责人: Wim Cosyn
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: Florida International University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2028-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2239274&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Unravelling; Strong; Interaction; Energy

Atomic nuclei make up close to 100% of visible matter around us. Even though it is known that nuclei are bound by the underlying fundamental theory of the strong nuclear interaction, it is not yet understood how exactly they (and the nucleons within them) emerge from it. This project studies and advances our knowledge of the strong interaction through the theoretical modeling of high-energy reactions with light nuclei. These reactions probe the quark and gluon substructure of the light nuclei and give access to measurements (and corresponding calculations) which are not possible on a free proton. Light nuclei consist of only a few protons and neutrons, resulting in reactions with a high degree of precision and control, combined with the ability to study the effect of the nuclear medium on the quark and gluon structure. The PI mentors graduate students working on the research at a minority serving institution and engages in outreach activities involving high-school teachers and the local science museum. In an effort to integrate education and research, the PI will also develop nuclear physics-themed modules to be used at STEM summer camps for local high school students.The goal of this project is to advance our theoretical understanding of non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, mainly through electron scattering off light nuclei. In high-energy reactions, an electron probes the nucleus as if sitting on a wave front moving at the speed of light. Hence the PI and his students will use the framework of light-front quantum mechanics, which enables to cleanly separate the low-energy nuclear structure of the light nucleus from the high-energy reaction dynamics. Light nuclei offer unique features to probe the strong interaction: they can be polarized, enabling spin-dependent studies; the initial nuclear state is theoretically and experimentally well known and can be controlled in measurements by detecting nuclear breakup. For this project, the team will exploit these features in specific reactions on the deuteron and helium. For polarized nuclei the team will study applications of a newly developed algorithm which generalizes the spin-1/2 Dirac algebra to higher spin cases. These studies are of importance for current and future measurements at US-based accelerator facilities such as Jefferson Lab and the future electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Lab.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

原子核占我们周围可见物质的100％。 尽管众所周知，核受到强核相互作用的基本理论的束缚，但尚不理解它们（以及其中的核子）如何从中出现。 该项目通过高能反应与光核的理论建模来研究并提高了我们对强烈相互作用的了解。这些反应探测了光核的夸克和gluon子结构，并访问了自由质子上不可能的测量（以及相应的计算）。 光核仅由几个质子和中子组成，导致反应具有高度的精度和对照，并结合研究核培养基对夸克和gluon结构的影响的能力。 PI导师的研究生在少数派服务机构的研究工作，并从事涉及高中老师和当地科学博物馆的外展活动。 为了整合教育和研究，PI还将开发以核物理学为主题的模块，用于当地高中生的STEM夏令营。该项目的目的是提高我们对强烈互动的非扰动方面的理论理解，主要是通过电子散射光核的电子散射。 在高能反应中，电子探测细胞核，好像坐在波前在光速下移动一样。因此，PI和他的学生将使用光量量子力学的框架，这使得能够清晰地将光核的低能核结构与高能反应动力学分开。 光核提供了独特的特征来探测强相互作用：它们可以极化，从而实现自旋依赖性研究；最初的核状态在理论上和实验上都是众所周知的，可以通过检测核破裂来控制测量。 对于这个项目，团队将在迪特隆和氦气的特定反应中利用这些功能。对于极化核，团队将研究新开发的算法的应用，该算法将Spin-1/2 Dirac代数概括为较高的自旋病例。 这些研究对于布鲁克黑文国家实验室（Brookhaven National Lab）的美国加速器设施（例如杰斐逊实验室和未来的电子离子对撞机）等当前和未来的测量至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来通过评估来支持的。