Nuclear Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, and Fundamental Particles

本提案描述了核天体物理、核物理和基本粒子物理的综合研究计划。大多数核天体物理学研究涉及放射性核素的反应，因此需要使用放射性束流设备。这些反应大多对原始核合成很有兴趣，因为它们可以预测大爆炸中比碳重的核素的丰度，从而为原始核合成模型提供新的测试。另一项研究是针对核合成的p过程，该过程被认为发生在极端的恒星条件下。从这些研究中获得的信息也将有助于对远离稳定的核中的核状态的一般知识体系。一项基本粒子研究将寻找稳定或长期存在的“奇异夸克”，即由上、下和奇异夸克组成的原子核，对核物质理论具有重要意义。理论工作的重点是利用实验研究中确定的反应速率对原始核合成进行新的丰度预测。伽马射线暴的研究将试图阐明这些现象的本质。最后，一种新型超新星探测器的初步工作将继续进行；它将能够测试恒星坍缩模型，还可以以前所未有的精度测量重中微子的质量。

This proposal describes an integrated research program in nuclear astrophysics, nuclear physics, and fundamental particle physics. Most of the nuclear astrophysics studies involve reactions on radioactive nuclides, and thus require use of radioactive beam facilities. Most of these reactions are of interest to primordial nucleosynthesis, as they will allow prediction of abundances of nuclides heavier than carbon in the big bang, thus providing new tests of models of primordial nucleosynthesis. Another study is directed at the p-process of nucleosynthesis, thought to occur in extreme stellar conditions. The information resulting from these studies also will contribute to the general body of knowledge of nuclear states in nuclei far from stability. A fundamental particle study will search for stable or long lived "strangelets," nuclei composed of up, down and strange quarks, of importance to theories of nuclear matter. The theoretical work focuses on new abundance predictions for primordial nucleosynthesis using the reaction rates determined in the experimental studies. Work of gamma-ray bursts will attempt to elucidate the nature of those phenomena. Finally, preliminary work on a new kind of supernova detector will continue; it will be capable of testing models of stellar collapse, and can also measure the masses of heavy neutrinos to unprecedented accuracy.