Ab-Initio Nuclear Theory: From Nuclei to Neutron Stars

理解宇宙中可见物质为什么是稳定的，是核物理基础研究在智力上面临的巨大挑战之一。这些挑战的核心是将原子核的存在和性质与基本的力和自由度联系起来的可能性。新的实验设施，如密歇根州立大学正在建造的稀有同位素束设施，将探索迄今未知的原子核属性，从而进一步深入了解宇宙中最小部分的物理学。新的洞察力涵盖了从原子核及其合成的物理学到中子星等致密天体，中子星是比太阳质量更大的恒星的奇异最终产物。该项目的理论研究目标与上述智力挑战紧密交织在一起，为理论研究和实验研究的融合提供了一个极好的范例。最近的理论发展，再加上先进的核力量模型和尖端计算设施的使用，有可能为核力量如何塑造我们所组成的物质提供新的知识和理解。反过来，这项前沿研究将为研究生提供极好的培训机会。为了应对这一挑战，PI和他的合作者将开发、研究并将各种多体方法应用于各种核系统，从稳定的闭壳核和致密核物质到远离壳层闭合的奇异的松散束缚中子和质子丰核。该项目的总体目标是寻求更好地了解核系统，以及更好地约束所涉及的理论方法。在这个项目中，国际和平研究所将开发软件和理论工具，通过现代版本控制系统和软件库向科学界提供这些工具。

Understanding why the visible matter in the Universe is stable is one the great intellectual challenges of basic research in nuclear physics. Central to these challenges is the possibility to link the existence and properties of nuclei to the underlying fundamental forces and degrees of freedom. New experimental facilities, such as the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams being built at Michigan State University, will probe hitherto uncharted properties of nuclei, allowing for further insights into the physics of the smallest parts in the Universe. The new insights span from the physics of nuclei and their synthesis to compact objects like neutron stars, exotic end products of stars more massive than our Sun. The theoretical research aims of this project are tightly woven with the above intellectual challenges and provide an excellent example of integration of theoretical and experimental studies. The combination of recent theoretical developments, combined with advanced models for nuclear forces and access to leading edge computational facilities, has the potential to offer new knowledge and understanding of how the nuclear forces shape the matter we are made of. In turn, this cutting-edge research will provide excellent training opportunities for graduate students.To address this challenge, the PI and his collaborators will develop, study and apply various many-body methods to a wide variety of nuclear systems, ranging from stable closed-shell nuclei and dense nuclear matter to exotic loosely-bound neutron and proton rich nuclei far from shell closures. The overarching aim of the project is to seek a better understanding of nuclear systems, as well as better constraints on the theoretical approaches involved. In this project the PI will develop software and theoretical tools that are being made available to the scientific community via modern version control systems and software libraries.