| Project Detail |
Advancing predictions of nuclear collisions
A century after their discovery, accurately predicting low-energy collisions of nucleons and nuclei remains challenging. Understanding these interactions is crucial for grasping cosmic events, such as the synthesis of medium-to-heavy elements, and advancing new technologies in the energy and space sectors. The R2D2 project, funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions under the Horizon Europe program, aims to fill gaps in existing nuclear data, offering reliable predictions where experimental measurements are costly or difficult. The research focuses on advancing ab initio reactions for heavier mass systems to pave the way for precise nuclear collision predictions. By leveraging effective field theory and successful techniques in nuclear structure, the project supports ongoing experimental efforts in nuclear astrophysics.
A century after its discovery, the atomic nucleus remains a subtle organization of protons and neutrons interacting through QCD. Its properties are the driving mechanism of cataclysmic events in the cosmos like those leading to the synthesis of medium-to-heavy elements. Unfortunately, precise, fundamental nuclear data, which are essential both to the sustainability of our civilization through technological applications, and to our understanding of the universe, are still a considerable undertaking to measure or to compute. Our objective is to unlock the applicability of ab initio predictions of nuclear collisions, which have been, so far, lagging behind that of static properties of nuclei. To reach this goal we aim:
1) To develop perturbation theory to ab initio reaction modeling, and by this means to open up to reacting systems above the p-shell;
2) To exploit the aforementioned development in the context of strict effective field theory for nucleons.
We expect these achievements to allow us to contribute to the understanding of the detailed balance between nucleons that will be uncovered at the edges of nuclear stability at facilities like Spiral2 in France and FAIR in Germany.
The experience researcher (ER) will bring to the host group its know-how in perturbative methods, of which he has been a
practitioner in nuclear structure, and, in doing so, he will boost the applicability of the host ab initio reaction tools. In turn, he will benefit from the supervisor’s expertise in reaction theory and effective field theoretical tools thereby acquiring a strong and valuable portfolio aiming to perform nuclear evaluation of data and predictions for supporting both theoretical and experimental nuclear astrophysics needs. In conclusion, this project is mutually beneficial to the host group and the ER. It will increase the ER visibility both at the EU and international levels, ready his managerial and mentoring skills for future career opportunities in academia or industry. |
