Studies in Nuclear Physics and Fundamental Interactions at Indiana University

该奖项为印第安纳大学核物理小组的活动提供支持，解决以下关键科学问题：(a)质子的角动量或自旋如何在其内部夸克和胶子成分中分布？我们知道夸克的自旋加起来不能形成质子的自旋，所以可能夸克在质子内部绕轨道运行或者可能所谓的“胶子”，在质子内部将夸克结合在一起的粒子，拥有一些自旋。(b)为什么大爆炸在宇宙中留下了我们今天看到的物质多于反物质的现象？利用著名的苏联物理学家安德烈·萨哈罗夫（Andrei Sakharov）的理论推导，我们将通过寻找自然界中随着时间方向的逆转而改变的相互作用来解决这个问题。(c)中微子，自然界中已知的最轻、相互作用最弱的大质量粒子，在低能时表现得奇怪吗？我们将使用在费米实验室建造的特殊光束进行检查。(d)中子和质子内部和之间的弱力有多强？我们将使用慢中子束进行精确测量来回答这个问题。我们小组活动的更广泛影响开始于我们对印第安纳大学回旋加速器设施的人力和技术基础设施的贡献，该设施将质子加速器应用于癌症治疗的放射治疗，测试辐射对生物系统和电子设备的影响，并为材料研究制造慢中子。这些活动创造了两家新的当地公司。我们的研究活动还为研究和教学大学、工业和国家实验室以及医疗和计算机技术培养下一代熟练和创新的博士科学家。我们举办暑期学校，发展以核技术为重点的本科生实验室，并协助开展鼓励大学预科学生参加印第安纳大学科学课程的项目。我们通过各种活动接触当地社区，唤醒当地公立学校系统学生的兴趣。我们积极招募女性和少数族裔申请人担任集团内各级职位，并通过实验室参观和开放日，科学咖啡馆讨论以及媒体上的公众感兴趣的项目，努力使公众了解我们的活动。

This award provides support for activities of the Indiana University nuclear physics group, addressing the following critical scientific questions: (a) How is the angular momentum, or spin, of the proton distributed among its internal quark and gluon constituents? We know that the spin of the quarks does not add up to make the spin of the proton, so maybe the quarks are orbiting around inside the proton or maybe the so-called "gluons", the particles the bind the quarks together inside the proton, possess some spin. (b) Why did the Big Bang leave the universe with the surplus of matter over anti-matter that we see today? Using a connection derived theoretically by the famous Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov, we will address this question by looking for interactions in Nature which change upon reversal of the direction of time (c) Do neutrinos, the lightest and most weakly interacting massive particles known in nature, behave strangely at low energy? We will use a special beam constructed at Fermilab to check. (d) How strong is the weak force inside and between neutrons and protons? We will perform precise measureements using slow neutron beams to answer this.The broader impacts of our group's activities begin locally through our contributions to the human and technological infrastructure of the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility, which applies proton accelerators to radiotherapy for cancer treatment, tests the effects of radiation on biological systems and electronics, and makes slow neutrons for materials research. These activities have created two new local companies. Our research activities also educate the next generation of skilled and innovative PhD scientists for jobs in research and teaching universities, industry and national labs, and medical and computer technology. We host summer schools, develop undergraduate laboratories emphasizing nuclear technology, and assist with programs that encourage pre-college participation in the Indiana University science curriculum. We reach out to the local community through a variety of activities that awaken the interest of students in our local public school system. We actively recruit female and minority applicants for positions at all levels within the group, and work to make our activities known to the public at large through laboratory tours and Open Houses, science café discussions, and items of public interest in the media.