PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW

PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW --
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS

Nuclear physics research seeks to understand the structure and interactions of atomic nuclei and the fundamental forces and particles of nature as manifested in nuclear matter. Nuclear processes are responsible for the nature and abundance of all matter, which in turn determine the essential physical characteristics of the universe. The primary mission of the Nuclear Physics program is to develop and support the scientists, techniques, and facilities that are needed for basic nuclear physics research. Attendant upon this core mission are responsibilities to enlarge and diversify the Nation's pool of technically trained talent and to facilitate transfer of technology and knowledge to support the Nation's economic base.

Nuclear physics research is carried out at National accelerator facilities and through university programs. The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) and the Bates Linear Accelerator at MIT allow detailed studies of how quarks and gluons bind together to make protons and neutrons. CEBAF is planning a future upgrade in which the electron beam energy is doubled from 6 to 12 GeV. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), now in operation at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), will instantaneously form submicroscopic specimens of quark-gluon plasma by colliding gold nuclei, thus allowing a study of the primordial soup of quarks and gluons thought to make up the early universe. RHIC is planning a beam luminosity upgrade in the future; a new electron-ion collider is also being discussed. The nuclear physics program supports research and facility operations that are directed towards understanding the properties of nuclei at their limits of stability and of the fundamental properties of nucleons and neutrinos. This research is made possible with the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), which provide complementary facilities for stable and radioactive beams as well as a variety of species and energies. In addition, the operations of accelerators for in-house research programs at four universities ( Yale University , Washington University, Texas A&M University , and Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) at Duke University ) provide unique instrumentation with a special emphasis on training of students. The nuclear physics program also supports non-accelerator experiments such as the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) facility, constructed by a collaboration of Canadian, English, and U.S. supported scientists, now taking data on solar neutrino fluxes and providing the first results on the “appearance” of oscillations of electron neutrinos into another neutrino type. A proposed Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) facility is being designed that would provide a way to explore the limits of nuclear existence. By producing and studying highly unstable nuclei that are now formed only in the stars, scientists could better understand stellar evolution and the origin of the elements.

Our ability to continue making a scientific impact to the general community relies heavily on the availability of cutting edge technology and advances in detector instrumentation, electronics, software, and accelerator design. The technical topics which follow describe research and development opportunities in the equipment, techniques, and facilities that are needed to conduct and advance nuclear physics research at existing and future facilities.

For additional information regarding the Office of Nuclear Physics priorities, click here.

TOPICS:

43. Nuclear Physics Software and Data Management

a. Large Scale Data Storage

b. Large Scale Data Processing and Distribution

c. Large Scale Data Archiving and Maintenance

d. Cluster Interconnects

44. Nuclear Physics Electronics Design and Fabrication

a. Advances in Digital Electronics

b. Circuits

c. Advanced Devices and Systems

d. Manufacturing and Advanced Interconnection Techniques