FRIB Theory Group: Science
Science
Some of the science issues relevant for FRIB were discussed
at a Nuclear Theory Breakout session was held at the
FRIB Meeting in May 2009, chaired by Erich Ormand [LLNL] and
Alexander Volya [FSU]. The issues, exerpted from the
workshop summary, include:
* a comprehensive and unified microscopic description of the structure of all nuclei and their low-energy reactions
from the basic interactions between the constituent protons and neutrons.
* building a unified approach using bridges to allow the development of a consistent understanding that spans
from quarks to neutron stars.
* How does the NN and NNN interaction emerge from QCD? How do NNN correlations
affect the structure of heavy nuclei?
* What are the limits of stability? (including angular momentum, isospin, mass and charge)
* How does shell structure evolve with neutron number?
* How do simple symmetries arise in complex systems?
* Can we describe large-amplitude collective motion? (And can we have a predictive
theory for fission for understanding the r-process and Advanced Fuel Cycles?)
* What is the microscopic underpinning of emergent phenomena?
* How do nuclei react with each other? (Can we describe some reactions from first
principles)? Can we develop a comprehensive theory of direct reactions? What is the
impact of the continuum on nuclear properties?
* What is the EOS of neutron matter?
* What can nuclei tell us about other small systems (cold trapped atoms, pairing, quantum
dots, phase transitions)?