Research in Theoretical Hadronic Physics and Related Topics

对该项目研究的总体描述是对质子结构(或更广泛地说，感受核力的粒子的结构，统称为强子)的研究。我们想要了解质子是如何组合在一起的细节，或者物质是如何在质子中分布的，并利用这些知识在相关领域，如原子物理，计算对质子大小敏感的现象。我们使用的一种值得注意的方法是在某些弱耦合的、因此相对容易计算的5维理论和描述我们世界的4维(计数时间)理论中的结果之间的数学等价性。我们用这种方法得到了质子和其他粒子内部的电荷分布、磁化分布和能量分布的结果。我们还能够应用我们的质子结构知识来计算某些氢能级之间的分裂，精度达到百万分之一的惊人精度。这项研究的直接影响是加深了我们对前沿强子物理的理解。拟议活动的更广泛影响包括培训新学生，包括本科生；弥合不同物理领域之间的差距，例如原子物理和核物理之间的差距；以及，鉴于首席研究员经常在杰斐逊实验室，弥合大学和国家实验室研究小组之间的差距。也可以注意到，首席调查员已经有两名成功的女博士生，沿着这些路线可能会有更多的机会。

An overall description of the research in this project is the study of proton structure (or more generally, of the structure of particles that feels the nuclear force, collectively known as hadrons). We want to learn the details of how the proton is put together, or how matter is distributed within a proton, and also to make use of this knowledge in the related fields, such as atomic physics, to calculate phenomena that are sensitive to the proton size. One remarkable method we use is a mathematical equivalence between results obtained in certain weakly coupled, hence relatively easily calculable, 5-dimensional theories and results in the 4-dimensional (counting time) theories that describe our world. We obtain results this way for the charge distribution, magnetization distribution, and energy distribution inside the proton and other particles. We have also been able to apply our knowledge of proton structure to make calculation of splittings between certain hydrogen energy levels to the remarkable accuracy of a part in a million.The direct impact of this research is to further our understanding of forefront hadronic physics. Broader impacts of the proposed activity include the training of new students, including undergraduates; bridging the gaps between different fields of physics such as between atomic and nuclear physics; and, given that the principal investigator is regularly at the Jefferson Laboratory, bridging the gap between university and national lab research groups. The principle investigator, it may be also noted, has had two successful women Ph. D. students and there may be further opportunities along these lines.