Department of Physics at the U of I

Nuclear Physics

Novel ways of probing the internal quark and anti-quark structure of the proton:
Left: The G0 experiment at Jefferson Laboratory probes the presence of strange quarks in the proton. The experiment uses a superconducting tracking magnet built by the University of Illinois' Nuclear Physics Laboratory (NPL).
Center: The SeaQuest experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will determine the abundance of anti-up and anti-down quarks in the proton. Shown are scintillator hodoscopes built for SeaQuest at NPL.
Right: The PHENIX experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory will measure the spin polarization of quarks and anti-quarks in the proton through W-production in polarized proton-proton collisions. The photo shows the test assembly of a W-trigger detector station at NPL.

What is Nuclear Physics?

More than 99% of the mass of visible matter in the universe is nuclear matter. Protons and neutrons are the building blocks of atomic nuclei. Exotic forms of nuclear matter were present in the early universe and continue to exist today in neutron stars. Nuclear fusion processes at the core of our Sun are the source of the vast energy flow that sustains life on Earth. Nuclear fusion in stars and nuclear processes at the end of stellar life have formed the rich spectrum of elements we observe in nature.

Nuclear physics studies the structure of nuclei—their formation, stability, and decay. It aims to understand the fundamental nuclear forces in nature, their symmetries, and the resulting complex interactions between protons and neutrons in nuclei and among quarks inside hadrons, including the proton.

Experimental nuclear physics drives innovation in scientific instrumentation and has far-reaching impact on research in other fields of science and engineering. From medicine—x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging, radiation therapies for cancer treatment—to materials science—x-ray lithography and neutron scattering—to propulsion and energy production—nuclear physicists have changed our world. Today's research in nuclear physics is not only unraveling fundamental questions about matter and energy but also enabling a host of new technologies in materials science, biology, chemistry, medicine, and national security.

What Are We Doing With Nuclear Physics at the U of I?

The Nuclear Physics Laboratory (NPL) at the U of I carries out research in three areas: the precision measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron, a broad program studying structure and formation of hadrons, and the precise determination of sin θ₁₃ through a ν_e disappearance experiment.

We have significant state-of-the-art infrastructure to design and build scientific instrumentation in our laboratory. We focus on the development of instruments for novel experimental approaches to solving open questions in nuclear physics. Recent and current examples include the large volume superconducting spectrometer magnet for the G0 experiment at Jefferson Laboratory, the cryogenic ⁴He target for the neutron EDM experiment at Oakridge National Laboratory and the W-trigger for the PHENIX experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

We participate in several large-scale experiments at accelerator and reactor facilities in the United States and abroad. A careful balance between experiments in different stages—R&D, construction, data taking, data analysis—results in a broad spectrum of research opportunities. Our large group—nearly 30 graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduate student researchers—focuses on discovery in fundamental nuclear physics, modern data analysis techniques, and advanced instrumentation.

Experiments, their status, and the major NPL physics goals:

• Belle experiment at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan [data analysis]
  Spin dependence in hadron production e+e- → hadron(s) + X
• Day Bay Experiment, Dapeng, China [construction, commissioning]
  Neutrino oscillations, measurement of sin θ₁₃
• E06-010 and E06-011 at Jefferson Laboratory, Newport New, VA [data analysis]
  Quark transversity for the neutron
• G0 at Jefferson Laboratory, Newport News, VA [data analysis]
  Strange quark content of the nucleon
• HERMES at DESY, Hamburg, Germany [data analysis]
  Quark and gluon spin structure of the nucleon
• nEDM experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN [R&D]
  Precision measurement of the electric dipole moment of the neutron
• PHENIX at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY [construction, data taking, data analysis]
  Quark and gluon spin structure of the proton, nuclear effects in nucleon structure
• SeaQuest at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL [construction, commissioning]
  Quark sea at large x

Faculty

Baym, Gordon A Research Professor 337C Loomis Laboratory 217.333.4363	Beck, Douglas H Professor 401A Loomis Laboratory 217.244.7994
Fields, Brian D Professor of Physics (0%) Associate Professor of Astronomy 216 Astronomy Building 217.333.5529	Grosse Perdekamp, Matthias Associate Professor 401B Loomis Laboratory 217.333.6544
Makins, Naomi C Professor 463 Loomis Laboratory 217.333.7291	Peng, Jen-Chieh Professor 409 Loomis Laboratory 217.244.6039
Yang, Liang Assistant Professor 465 Loomis Laboratory 217.244.2792
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