A Program of Medium Energy Nuclear Physics

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research activity that would be supported by this grant includes research in four broad areas. First, there is the program of parity-nonconserving electron scattering at the JLab accelerator that will try to measure the contribution of "strange" quarks to the structure of protons and neutrons. Second, there are two experiments to measure fundamental properties of the muon. One experiment at BNL to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon in order to test the so-called Standard Model of electroweak interactions and set important limits on "new physics" beyond that model. The other is a measurement at PSI to measure the lifetime of the muon in order to place stringent limits on the universal Fermi coupling constant. Third, there is the experiment at HERA to determine the contribution of quarks and gluons to the intrinsic angular momentum of the proton and neutron by measuring the scattering of polarized electrons on polarized targets. Fourth, there is the program of real Compton scattering at JLab that seeks to test certain aspects of the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics and to measure new features of the quark structure of the proton/ Lastly, all research activities are closely integrated with education at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels, and contribute to important outreach aimed at K-12 students.