Studies of Pion and Kaon Structure and Validation of the Exclusive Reaction Mechanism

21世纪世纪物理学的主要目标之一是从物质的基本结构的角度定量地理解强束缚亚原子系统的性质。核物理学，这个研究项目的主题在美国天主教大学，是研究原子核。它是一个关键的科学领域，通过进行突破性的研究来调查物质的性质，以扩大我们对亚原子世界的理解。该计划将进行研究，以推进原子核基本组成部分的潜在夸克-胶子结构的知识：质子，中子，π介子和K介子。它将有助于改进粒子加速器中使用的亚原子粒子探测器，并通过对研究生、本科生和高中生进行最先进的仪器和机器学习信息软件开发的培训，教育未来的先进技术工作者。该研究计划有两个主要目标，一是加深对π介子和K介子的QCD理解-它们的形状因子，它们的结构函数，它们的质量，以及这些戈德斯通玻色子和质子的结构之间的对比。这个科学计划的第二个目标是提供测量来验证3D（空间）强子成像的框架。该计划的重点是在近期和中期的杰斐逊实验室12 GeV，并在美国的电子离子对撞机的长期。实验方法使用高能电子和/或光子束通过完全（或几乎完全）测量的仅几个粒子的集合，通过排他性（和半包容性）散射过程来探测强子内部深处。实验的重点是精确测量纵向-横向分离的深排他介子电生截面。早期的职业科学家和学生在这个项目中发挥了不可或缺的作用，它提供了机会，以获得经验，在设计，组装和测试现代亚原子粒子探测器，快速信号处理电子和科学数据分析。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

One of the primary goals of twenty-first century physics is the quantitative understanding of the nature of strongly bound subatomic systems in terms of the fundamental structure of matter. Nuclear physics, the subject of this research program at The Catholic University of America, is the study of the atomic nucleus. It is a key scientific field that investigates the properties of matter by performing ground-breaking research to expand our understanding of the sub-atomic world. This program will perform research to advance the knowledge of the underlying quark-gluon structure of the basic building blocks of the atomic nucleus: its protons, neutrons, pions, and kaons. It will contribute to the improvement of sub-atomic particle detectors that are employed in particle accelerators and to educating the future advanced tech work force through training of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in state-of-the art instrumentation and machine-learning-informed software development.This research program has two primary goals, one to deepen the QCD understanding of pions and kaons - their form factors, their structure functions, and their masses, and the contrast between the structure of these Goldstone bosons and the proton. The second goal of this science program is to provide measurements to validate the framework for 3D (spatial) hadron imaging. The program focuses in the near and intermediate term on Jefferson Lab 12 GeV, and in the long term on the US-based Electron-Ion Collider. The experimental method uses beams of highly-energetic electrons and/or photons to probe deep inside of hadrons by a completely- (or nearly completely-) measured set of only a few particles, through exclusive (and semi-inclusive) scattering processes. The emphasis of the experimentation is on precision measurements of longitudinal-transverse separated deep exclusive meson electroproduction cross sections. Early-career scientists and students at all levels play an integral part in this project, which provides opportunities to gain experience in the design, assembly, and testing of modern subatomic particle detectors, fast signal processing electronics, and scientific data analysis.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.