Hadronic Physics for Fundamental Discoveries

核物理和粒子物理旨在了解亚原子距离下的基本参数和自然规律。这些参数包括基本粒子的质量：夸克和轻子。夸克是一种通过强作用力相互作用的粒子，这种强作用力将它们束缚在原子核中。轻子感觉不到这种力；轻子最常见的例子是通过电磁相互作用与原子核结合的电子。更奇特的轻子是中微子，它不带电荷，相互作用也很弱。然而，这种难以捉摸的粒子被证明是我们寻找新物理学的关键一环。在过去的二十年里，精确的实验测量表明，中微子的质量很小，但不是零，但对夸克和轻子质量的基本理解仍然难以捉摸。在这个更广泛的背景下，这个项目将为支持实验工作提供所需的理论基础，以高精度地测量中微子和轻夸克的质量。这个项目将为学生提供很好的训练场地。在核物理和粒子物理中，一个重要的挑战是如何以与实验精度相匹配的精度来描述低能量下的强作用力。具体来说，这个项目的目的是了解三介子系统。这个系统是用于测定轻夸克质量的介子衰变的最终状态。该系统也是中微子-原子核相互作用的中间状态，因此在解释中微子实验中起着重要作用。PI和她的合作者将基于手性微扰理论和色散技术的方法，开发一个准确模拟三介子相互作用的分析框架。这将支持托马斯杰斐逊实验室最先进的核物理实验，特别是GlueX或CLAS，以及即将在费米实验室和世界范围内进行的精确中微子核散射实验。

Nuclear and particle physics aim to understand fundamental parameters and laws of nature at subatomic distances. Among such parameters are the masses of elementary particles: quarks and leptons. Quarks are particles that interact via the strong force -- this force binds them together in an atomic nucleus. Leptons do not feel this force; the most familiar example of a lepton is the electron that is bound to the nucleus by the electromagnetic interaction. A more exotic lepton is the neutrino, which has no electric charge and interacts only weakly. Yet, this elusive particle is proving to be a crucial link in our search for new physics. Exquisite experimental measurements over the last two decades have revealed that the neutrinos have small but nonzero masses, but the fundamental understanding of the quarks and lepton masses remains elusive. In this broader context, this project will provide the theoretical foundations needed in support of experimental efforts designed to measure with high accuracy the masses of the neutrinos and light quarks. This project will provide excellent training ground for students.An important challenge in nuclear and particle physics concerns the description of the strong force at low energy with the accuracy matching the experimental level of precision. Specifically, the aim of this project is to understand the three-pion system. This system is the final state of the decay of the eta-meson that is used for the light quark mass determination.This system is also an intermediate state of the neutrino-nucleus interaction and therefore plays an essential role in interpreting neutrino experiments. The PI and her collaborators will develop an analytical framework to accurately model three-pion interactions, based on the methods of chiral perturbation theory and dispersive techniques. This will support state-of-the-art nuclear physics experiments at Thomas Jefferson Laboratory, particularly GlueX or CLAS, as well as the upcoming precision neutrino-nucleus scattering experiments at Fermilab and worldwide.