Study of Electromagnetic Structure of Light Pseudoscalar Mesons via the Primakoff Effect

该提案要求资金支持北卡罗来纳A&amp； t实验核物理小组的学生和高级人员进行PrimEx实验。我们的小组目前在PrimEx合作中发挥主导作用，开发和构建最先进的实验装置，在杰斐逊实验室（JLab）进行中性介子寿命的精确测量。因为中性介子是自然界中最轻的双夸克系统，所以理论的预测对这一过程是最准确和直接的。目前对这种衰变率的实验知识是在10%的水平上，这比理论不确定性低一个数量级。在JLab的PrimEx实验，将显著改善与所有过去的实验相关的实验不确定性。这项工作将涉及三名本科生和三名研究生，他们将在这个项目上工作和接受培训。它将为他们提供独特的实验核物理研究机会，因此将对他们的培训和教育产生重大影响。该计划是高度跨学科的，包括硬件和软件（即电子，核探测器系统，计算机模拟和数据分析）的工作。这将使他们能够在最先进的设施中工作，并与来自其他国家认可大学的科学家互动。因此，它可以非常有效地吸引非裔美国人和其他代表性不足的群体攻读物理学的高级学位。

This proposal requests funds to support the North Carolina A&TExperimental Nuclear Physics groups students and senior personnel towork on the PrimEx experiment. Our group is currently playing a leadingrole in the PrimEx collaboration to develop and construct astate-of-the-art experimental setup, to perform a precise measurement ofthe neutral pion lifetime at Jefferson Laboratory (JLab). Because theneutral pions are the lightest two quark system in nature, theprediction of theory is the most accurate and direct for this process. The present experimental knowledge of this decay rate is at the 10%level, which is about one order of magnitude poorer than the theoreticaluncertainties. The PrimEx experiment at JLab, will significantly improvethe experimental uncertainties associated with all the pastexperiments. This work will involve three undergraduate and three graduate studentsto work and to be trained on this project. It will provide them withunique research opportunities in experimental nuclear physics, andtherefore will have a strong impact on their training and education. The program is highly interdisciplinary and includes work with bothhardware and software (i.e., electronics, nuclear detector systems,computer simulation, and data analysis). It will allow them to work ina state-of-the-art facility and interact with scientists from othernationally recognized universities. Thus, it can be very effective inattracting African Americans and other underrepresented groups to studytoward advanced degrees in physics.