RUI: Detectors to Explore Quarks and Leptons

James Madison University, Harrisonburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is designed to integrate important contributions to research with an educational experience for promising undergraduate students. The James Madison University Particle and Nuclear Physics Group, consisting of Dr. Giovanetti, Dr. Niculescu, and a group of undergraduate students, is conducting research in the area of Intermediate Energy Nuclear Physics at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, TJNAF, and at the Paul Scherrer Institute, PSI. The members of the group are actively involved in the ongoing research at TJNAF and are contributing by designing and testing equipment, participating in data taking and performing data analysis. This group is also a key collaborator in an experiment underway at PSI (Muon Lifetime Experiment). The project will explore the rich structure of particles like the proton and the neutron, which are the basic building blocks of the atomic nucleus. It is widely held that protons and neutrons are built out of three quarks. These quarks are viewed as fundamental particles that have simple properties. Gluonic forces hold the quarks together. The basic nature of the forces are believed to be understood. However there is not yet a complete picture of the three-quark system. Studies that probe the nature of the proton, and the neutron will clarify the important ingredients, test the validity of models and approximations, and perhaps discover new features that require a closer look at the underlying theory. Improvements in technology and progress in theoretical physics have created the opportunity to improve our knowledge of the strength of another basic interaction, the weak force. By measuring the lifetime of the muon the Fermi coupling constant can be extracted. This constant determines the strength of the weak force in the same manner as electric charge determines the strength of the electromagnetic force. The goal is to improve this measured value to one part per million. *************************************************** -- Giovanetti, Kevin L giovankl@jmu.edu