Nuclear Structure, Mesoscopic Physics and Double Beta Decay

Research topics covered by this award include (i) development of new analytical and computational tools for the description of nuclear structure, especially for the nuclei far from stability; (ii) detailed consideration of specific new nuclear phenomena encountered with experimental advances into virgin territory of unstable nuclei; (iii) modeling of structural and dynamical aspects of nuclear processes of astrophysical interest; (iv) understanding nuclear matrix elements related to fundamental symmetries and double-beta decay and (v) development of the unified description of structure and reactions in open and marginally stable mesoscopic systems, including nuclear reactions, conductance fluctuations and quantum transport.

We will train graduate students who are attracted to the activities in our group and to the number one ranked graduate school in nuclear physics in the US. Our proposed research relates to broad questions in science including: What are the limits of nuclear stability? How did the chemical evolution of the Universe proceed? How do nuclear properties emerge from the underlying nucleon-nucleon interactions? How can we use nuclear data to understand fundamental symmetries and neutrino properties? How does order coexist with chaos and complexity in quantum mesoscopic systems? The suggested program is expected to have appreciable impact on developments in the field of nuclear theory, nuclear astrophysics and the general field of mesoscopic physics. Many of the projects are connected to the experimental programs at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) and other laboratories. Projects are also closely coupled with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA).