Study of the Strong Nuclear Interaction at Short Distances

卡洛斯·耶罗被授予NSF数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金，以在老道明大学开展研究和教育项目。耶罗将在弗吉尼亚州纽波特纽斯的杰斐逊实验室领导两项实验，研究核子对(中子和质子)之间的短程关联，以更好地理解核子-核子相互作用的短程部分。其中一个实验将测量钙的两个同位素Ca-40和Ca-48的电子散射，以探索Ca-48中额外的8个中子如何影响中子和质子的配对。另一项实验将测量氚的电子散射，氚是由单个中子与单个质子结合而成，是所有原子核中最简单的。氚实验将在非常高的动量下进行，并提供关于核子-核子(NN)在非常小距离内相互作用的信息。Yero将通过Old Dominion University Hales和Reyes推广计划，通过研究导师和英语和西班牙语讲座，让高中生和本科生参与这项研究。在极短的范围内，核子对相互作用非常强烈，并短暂地波动成具有非常大的相对动量的短程关联(SRC)对。这些对主要是质子-中子对。它们解释了所有的高动量核子和原子核中的大部分动能。研究这些SRC对的丰度和性质将使研究人员了解核结构、原子核中的核子结构修改以及极短距离内的NN相互作用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Carlos Yero is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at Old Dominion University. Yero will lead two experiments at Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, Virginia, that will investigate the short-range correlations between pairs of nucleons (neutrons and protons) to better understand the short-range part of the nucleon-nucleon interaction. One experiment will measure electron scattering from Ca-40 and Ca-48, two isotopes of calcium, to explore how the pairing up of neutrons and protons is affected by the eight extra neutrons in Ca-48. The other experiment will measure electron scattering from deuterons, which are made from a single neutron bound to a single proton and are the simplest of all nuclei. The deuteron experiment will be done at very high momentum and provide information on the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction over very small distances. Yero will involve high school and undergraduate students in this research through the Old Dominion University HALES and REYES outreach programs, both through research mentorships and through lectures in both English and Spanish.At extremely short range, pairs of nucleons interact very strongly, and briefly fluctuate into a Short Range Correlation (SRC) pair with very large relative momentum. These pairs are predominantly proton-neutron pairs. They account for all of the high-momentum nucleons and most of the kinetic energy in the nucleus. Studying the abundances and properties of these SRC pairs will inform researchers about nuclear structure, nucleon structure modification in the nucleus, and the NN interaction at very short distances.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.