Ab initio nuclear theory
Abstract
Through the research contained in this proposal we want to make significant advances in the theoretical modeling of atomic nuclei. We will address the following key science questions:
- Can we use chiral effective field theory to understand the low-energy interaction between nucleons, starting from the underlying symmetries of quantum chromodynamics?
- At what level of precision are we able to perform theoretical spectroscopy for light nuclei?
- What are the properties of nuclear systems with strangeness and how can such systems be used to inform us about the hyperon-nucleon interaction and the equation-of-state for neutron stars?
These ambitious goals are directly related to current frontiers in modern ab initio nuclear theory. We require: (i) effective field theory, (ii) quantum many-body theory for strongly-interacting systems, (iii) advanced computational methods.
The significance and timeliness of this research project can be traced to major recent advances in theoretical physics and high-performance computing, and the current worldwide development of accelerator facilities for radioactive ion beam experiments.
