Birmingham Nuclear Physics Consolidated Grant 2016

伯明翰核物理综合补助金 2016

• 批准号: ST/P004199/1
• 负责人: Peter Jones
• 金额: $ 198.22万
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2017 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FP004199%2F1
• 关键词: Birmingham; Nuclear; Physics; Consolidated; Grant

Our proposed research has three broad themes that build upon our world leading areas of expertise. The first of these involves the study of high-energy nuclear collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, the world's highest energy particle accelerator. The aim of the ALICE experiment is to study nuclear matter, as it would have existed about a millionth of a second after the Big Bang when the Universe was so hot and so dense that nuclei did not exist. In its primordial state nuclear matter consists of its fundamental constituents (quarks and gluons) in a plasma state. We recreate this novel state of matter in our experiment and we are developing ways of studying these high-energy nuclear collisions to discover the properties of the quark-gluon plasma. This is technically challenging and the group has developed a sophisticated electronic trigger system that controls the experiment. The quark-gluon plasma has remarkable properties, such as an abundance of strange quarks and near-perfect fluidity. In this proposal, we are trying to determine whether size matters by finding the smallest drop of plasma that still retains these properties. We are using grazing collisions to explore the internal structure of nuclei at high energy. And we are looking at the debris of quarks and gluons that are sometimes scattered out of the collision, producing a shower of particles in our detector known as a jet, to study the conditions inside the plasma. We are also performing R&D into new detector technologies based on silicon pixel detectors in which the readout electronics is contained within the pixel. The second strand extends beyond the quark scale to the scale of nuclei. Here the challenge is to understand how the nature of the strong interaction plays out on the nuclear, rather than the sub-nucleon scale. Here the strong force is highly complex, which is manifest in correlations. These can be pairing correlations or correlations of higher order, which results in the formation of alpha-particle clusters. The geometric arrangement of clusters produces dynamical symmetries, which in turn gives a fingerprint of quantum mechanical states. The work performed by the Birmingham group has indicated the presence of a triangular arrangement of alpha particles in 12C. We propose to extend the techniques and ideas to a study of 16O that is predicted to be strongly influenced by a tetrahedral structure. What happens to alpha-particle clustering as particles are either added or removed from the cluster cores is extremely important as this is intimately connected with the structure of nuclei at the drip-lines. We will be studying a number of systems that will provide a deeper insight into phenomena such as nuclear molecules. Finally, we plan to develop an experimental programme to exploit gamma-ray beams to probe with great precision the structure of clustered nuclei via their electromagnetic properties. To-date this tool has provided us with some of the best insights into the structure of light nuclei and we plan to extend these studies to exotic cluster states above the cluster decay threshold. This programme will produce measurements to constrain state-of-the-art theory.This grant also recognises the importance of applying nuclear physics knowledge through a variety of applications. In the field of energy production using both nuclear fission and fusion there is a need for more precise measurements of a variety of nuclear reactions. We plan to use the University of Birmingham's MC40 cyclotron for nuclear data studies. Moreover, the cyclotron may be used to create a high radiation environment that mimics either reactor or decommissioning environments. We will develop a facility that will be used to test instrumentation and detection systems for use in such environments.

我们提出的研究有三个广泛的主题，建立在我们世界领先的专业领域。其中第一项涉及在世界上能量最高的粒子加速器大型强子对撞机上研究高能核碰撞。ALICE实验的目的是研究核物质，因为它在大爆炸后大约百万分之一秒就存在了，当时宇宙是如此的热，如此的密集，以至于原子核不存在。在原始状态下，核物质由处于等离子体状态的基本成分（夸克和胶子）组成。我们在实验中重现了这种新的物质状态，并且我们正在开发研究这些高能核碰撞的方法，以发现夸克-胶子等离子体的性质。这在技术上具有挑战性，该小组已经开发出一种控制实验的复杂电子触发系统。夸克-胶子等离子体具有显著的性质，例如大量的奇异夸克和近乎完美的流动性。在这个提议中，我们试图通过找到仍然保留这些特性的最小等离子体液滴来确定尺寸是否重要。我们正利用掠射碰撞来探索高能原子核的内部结构。我们正在观察夸克和胶子的碎片，它们有时会从碰撞中散落出来，在我们的探测器中产生一个被称为喷流的粒子簇，以研究等离子体内部的条件。我们还在进行基于硅像素探测器的新探测器技术的研发，其中读出电子器件包含在像素内。第二条链从夸克尺度延伸到原子核尺度。这里的挑战是理解强相互作用的性质如何在核而不是亚核子尺度上发挥作用。这里的强力是高度复杂的，这在相关性中表现出来。这些可能是配对相关或高阶相关，导致α粒子簇的形成。团簇的几何排列产生了动力学对称性，这反过来又给出了量子力学状态的指纹。伯明翰小组的工作表明，12 C中存在α粒子的三角形排列。我们建议扩展的技术和想法的研究16 O，预计将受到强烈影响的四面体结构。当粒子被添加或从团簇核心移除时，α粒子团簇发生了什么是极其重要的，因为这与滴线处的核结构密切相关。我们将研究一些系统，这些系统将提供对核分子等现象的更深入的了解。最后，我们计划开发一个实验方案，利用伽马射线束探测高精度的结构，通过其电磁特性的集群核。到目前为止，这个工具为我们提供了一些最好的洞察轻核的结构，我们计划将这些研究扩展到集群衰变阈值以上的异国情调的集群状态。该计划将产生测量，以约束国家的最先进的理论。该补助金也承认通过各种应用程序应用核物理知识的重要性。在使用核裂变和核聚变两者的能量生产领域中，需要对各种核反应进行更精确的测量。我们计划使用伯明翰大学的MC 40回旋加速器进行核数据研究。此外，回旋加速器可用于产生模拟反应堆或退役环境的高辐射环境。我们将开发一种设施，用于测试在这种环境中使用的仪器和检测系统。