RUI: Studying the Strong Nuclear Force at Augustana University

RUI：在奥古斯塔纳大学研究强核力

• 批准号: 2310859
• 负责人: Nathan Grau
• 金额: $ 17.66万
• 依托单位: Augustana University Association
• 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: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2310859&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Studying; Strong; Nuclear; Force

This award continues the scientific program at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota devoted to the study of the strong nuclear force, which is the force responsible for binding protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom and for energy generation in the sun. The very early universe was so hot that protons and neutrons did not exist. Instead, a dense soup of quarks and gluons, the fundamental particles that make up the proton and neutron and interact by the strong nuclear force, existed. This state of matter has been recreated in the collisions of heavy nuclei, like gold, at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. As a member of the sPHENIX collaboration, the Augustana Nuclear Physics group proposes to analyze how high energy particles emerging from the quark-gluon plasma change their energy and direction. Such measurement yields information about the plasma's properties as well as details on the fundamental strong nuclear force interaction. The group is also a member of the ePIC collaboration that is designing the detector for the eventual Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) to be built at Brookhaven. The group will be contributing manpower to studying potential electromagnetic calorimeter technologies to be used. The proposed work is unique in South Dakota and the region and provide physics and pre-engineering students opportunities to be technically trained. They will work with collaborators from around the world and present at national conferences. The project will fund research for undergraduates studying both physics and pre-engineering and provide broad educational benefits. Students will gain practical skills such as computer programming, analysis of large data sets, electrical engineering application, and mechanical engineering design. All these skills are transferable to other vocations of interest to the student, the state, and the nation. Students will participate in weekly collaboration meetings, present at national conferences, and visit collaborating institutions. Such opportunities will build their communication skills, grow their professional network, put them in contact with potential graduate schools, and prepare them for 21st-century technical jobs. This award supports the continuation of the only laboratory in the state of South Dakota dedicated to studying the strong nuclear force. The PI is a member of the sPHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and ePIC collaboration at the Electron Ion Collider (EIC), both at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Broadly the PI and his students have focused on using high momentum transfer (Q2) processes, specifically jets, to understand low-Q2 processes. Using sPHENIX Au+Au and p+p data, hadron-jet azimuthal correlations will be measured. Depending on how the jets are binned, these correlations can be sensitive to different aspects of parton energy loss in a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). These measurements take advantage of the high luminosity of RHIC and high DAQ rate of sPHENIX to have a large sample of jets to study the transport properties of the QGP at RHIC. The PI and students plan to increase their participation in ePIC. The group will work alongside collaborators doing research and development work for homogeneous electromagnetic calorimeters for the central rapidity barrel or the electron-going "backward" rapidity arm. The group plans to participate in the Jefferson Lab test beam campaign. Deep inelastic e+A collisions at the EIC can probe a region which may be where gluon saturation dominates gluon kinematics. The group will continue working on ways to increase the sensitivity of two-particle azimuthal correlations to the photon-gluon fusion process. Beyond the physics deliverables, this project has additional broader impacts. Being the single strong-force physics laboratory in the state of South Dakota, students from the region have unique access to this kind of physics. Students that have worked in the group have gained valuable experience in mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. There are former students who are either completing their engineering degrees or in the work force in a technical job in and around South Dakota. The proposed analysis and detector testing work will provide current students with the same opportunities to be ready for current and future technical jobs. This project is jointly funded by Nuclear Physics Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

该奖项是南达科他州苏福尔斯奥古斯塔大学致力于研究强核力的科学项目的延续，强核力是一种负责将质子和中子结合在原子核中以及在太阳中产生能量的力量。早期的宇宙非常热，质子和中子都不存在。相反，存在着夸克和胶子的浓稠汤，夸克和胶子是构成质子和中子并通过强核力相互作用的基本粒子。这种物质状态已在布鲁克海文国家实验室的相对论重离子对撞机 (RHIC) 的重核（如金）碰撞中重现。作为 sPHENIX 合作的成员，奥古斯塔纳核物理小组提议分析夸克-胶子等离子体中出现的高能粒子如何改变其能量和方向。这种测量产生有关等离子体特性的信息以及基本强核力相互作用的详细信息。该小组也是 ePIC 合作组织的成员，该合作组织正在为布鲁克海文最终建造的电子离子对撞机 (EIC) 设计探测器。该小组将投入人力来研究潜在的电磁量热仪技术。拟议的工作在南达科他州和该地区是独一无二的，为物理和工程预科学生提供接受技术培训的机会。他们将与来自世界各地的合作者合作并出席国家会议。该项目将为学习物理和预科工程的本科生提供资助，并提供广泛的教育效益。学生将获得计算机编程、大数据集分析、电气工程应用和机械工程设计等实用技能。所有这些技能都可以转移到学生、国家和民族感兴趣的其他职业中。学生将参加每周的合作会议、出席全国会议并参观合作机构。这些机会将培养他们的沟通技巧，发展他们的专业网络，让他们与潜在的研究生院建立联系，并为他们从事 21 世纪的技术工作做好准备。该奖项支持南达科他州唯一一个致力于研究强核力的实验室的延续。 PI 是相对论重离子对撞机 (RHIC) 的 sPHENIX 合作组织和电子离子对撞机 (EIC) 的 ePIC 合作组织的成员，这两个合作组织均位于布鲁克海文国家实验室。总体而言，PI 和他的学生专注于使用高动量传递 (Q2) 过程（特别是射流）来了解低 Q2 过程。使用 sPHENIX Au+Au 和 p+p 数据，将测量强子喷射方位角相关性。根据射流的分类方式，这些相关性可能对夸克-胶子等离子体 (QGP) 中部分子能量损失的不同方面敏感。这些测量利用 RHIC 的高亮度和 sPHENIX 的高 DAQ 速率来获得大量射流样本，以研究 QGP 在 RHIC 下的输运特性。 PI 和学生计划增加对 ePIC 的参与。该小组将与合作者合作，为中央快速筒或电子“向后”快速臂进行均质电磁量热计的研发工作。该小组计划参加杰斐逊实验室的光束测试活动。 EIC 处的深层非弹性 e+A 碰撞可以探测胶子饱和度可能主导胶子运动学的区域。该小组将继续研究提高双粒子方位角相关性对光子-胶子聚变过程的敏感性的方法。除了物理成果之外，该项目还具有更广泛的影响。作为南达科他州唯一的强力物理实验室，该地区的学生拥有接触此类物理的独特机会。在该小组工作的学生在数学、计算机科学、电气工程和机械工程方面获得了宝贵的经验。有些以前的学生要么正在完成工程学位，要么在南达科他州及其周边地区从事技术工作。拟议的分析和探测器测试工作将为当前的学生提供相同的机会，为当前和未来的技术工作做好准备。该项目由核物理计划和刺激竞争研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 联合资助。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。