QCD Epoch, Primordial Nucleosynthesis, and the Weak Interaction Physics of the Supernova Problem

本基金资助核/粒子天体物理学的基础理论研究。该项目的一部分将研究早期宇宙演化背景下QCD相变的动力学。将特别注意热和重子输运以及流体速度场的演变，因为这些将影响随后的核丰度计算。第二部分讨论了理解超新星爆炸产生的轻子分布所需的弱相互作用物理。冲击波再加热问题将与允许不同类型的中微子之间转换的影响一起研究。QCD夸克-胶子等离子体相是我们目前对强相互作用的理论认识所预测的一种新的物质形式。据推测，它在宇宙大爆炸形成的最初时刻就存在了。超新星是宇宙中产生核物质的高压锅，但其机制尚不完全清楚。中微子转换的问题超出了目前弱相互作用的理论框架，并且与我们对太阳产生的中微子的理解中的一个关键差距有关。

This grant supports basic theoretical research in nuclear/particle astrophysics. One part of the project will study the dynamics of a QCD phase transition in the context of the evolution of the early universe. Particular attention will be paid to the heat and baryon transport and the evolution of the fluid velocity field, as these will influence the subsequent calculation of nuclear abundances. A second part deals with the weak interaction physics required for understanding the lepton distributions produced by supernovae explosions. The shock wave re-heating problem will be studied together with the effects of allowing conversion between different types of neutrinos. The QCD quark-gluon plasma phase is a new form of matter predicted by our current theoretical understanding of the strong interaction. It is conjectured to have existed at the earliest moments of the big-bang creation of the universe. Supernovae are the pressure cookers which produce the nuclear matter in the universe but their mechanisms are not fully understood. The problem of neutrino conversion goes beyond the current theoretical framework for the weak interaction and is related to a critical gap in our understanding of neutrinos produced by the Sun.