Electron and Neutrino Scattering from Light Nuclei

原子核的结构和构成原子核的核子的结构是基础研究的一个引人入胜的领域，对其他科学领域具有重要意义，例如理解中微子的本质、天体物理学，以及国土安全等更多应用领域。从轻核发出的散射电子束使我们能够了解原子核和核子的结构，以及将核子结合成原子核的强相互作用。科学界的一项重大新投资是计划在布鲁克海文国家实验室建造新的电子离子对撞机。与固定目标加速器相比，电子与原子核碰撞的优势在于可以达到更高的能量，因此可以解决更多的细节问题。然而，理论计算在对撞机实验中更为困难。PI和她的合作者已经开发了一个框架，可以在任何框架下简单地进行计算，他们正在用这个框架来确定未来对撞机各种实验的最佳条件。该项目将支持在美国进行的电子和中微子散射实验。PI将继续在俄亥俄州西北部的农村地区开展推广工作，并让感兴趣的本科生参与这个研究项目。轻核的电子散射给我们提供了许多关于核基态结构的见解。在杰斐逊实验室进行的高精度实验需要同样高精度的理论。PI已经开发了D（e,e'p）反应的完全相对论性描述，包括自旋依赖的最终态相互作用。中微子从轻核散射需要许多用来描述电子散射反应的相同元素。在未来，电子-离子对撞机将允许我们在更大的能量和动量转移范围内探索原子核。通过对撞机框架中观测值的不变响应，PI和她的合作者开发了将静止框架中执行的理论计算联系起来的必要形式。这种形式被应用于杰斐逊实验室和电子离子对撞机未来实验的设计和分析。研究了氦-3在一个简单模型中的独占电子散射，以确定这些实验在对撞机中的可行性，并对已确定为有希望的运动区域进行了更精确的计算。为了支持杰斐逊实验室的实验计划，研究了氘核中包含电子散射的张量不对称性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The structure of nuclei and of the nucleons which form them is a fascinating area of basic research with important implications for other areas of science, e.g. understanding the nature of neutrinos, astrophysics, and for more applied areas like homeland security. Scattering electron beams from light nuclei enables us to learn about the structure of nuclei and nucleons, and the strong interaction which binds the nucleons into nuclei. A major new investment of the science community is the planned new Electron Ion Collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Colliding electrons with nuclei has the advantage that higher energies are reached, and thus more detail can be resolved, than for fixed target accelerators. Theoretical calculations, however, are more difficult to perform for a collider experiment. The PI and her collaborators have developed a framework for an easy way to perform calculations in any frame, and they are using this to identify the best conditions for various experiments at the future collider. This project will support both electron and neutrino scattering experiments performed in the US. The PI will continue to do outreach in rural northwestern Ohio, and involve interested undergraduate students in this research project. Electron scattering from light nuclei has given us many insights on the structure of the nuclear ground state. High precision experiments performed at Jefferson Lab require an equally high precision theory. The PI has developed a fully relativistic description of the D(e,e'p) reaction, including spin-dependent final state interactions. Neutrino scattering from light nuclei requires many of the same elements used to describe the electron scattering reactions. In the future, the Electron-Ion Collider will allow us to explore nuclei at an even larger range of energy and momentum transfers. The necessary formalism to relate theory calculations performed in the rest frame through the invariant responses to observables in the collider frame has been developed by the PI and her collaborators. This formalism is applied towards the design and analysis of future experiments at Jefferson Lab and the Electron Ion Collider. Exclusive electron scattering from Helium-3 in a simple model is investigated to establish the feasibility of these experiments in a collider and more refined calculations are performed for kinematic regions that have been identified as promising. In support of Jefferson Lab’s experimental program, the tensor asymmetry for inclusive electron scattering from the deuteron is investigated.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.