Nuclear, Particle, and Weak Interaction Physics of the Big Bang and Steller Collapse

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics stand at the intersection point of two of the most exciting recent developments in science: (1) the experimentally-driven revolution in neutrino physics; and (2) the startling recent advances in the capabilities of observational astronomy, especially in cosmology. The chief research objective of the supported work is to exploit this intersection, leveraging new developments in astronomy and astrophysics to probe fundamental neutrino and nuclear physics issues not easily explored in the lab, and vice-versa, using new insights in nuclear and neutrino physics to better understand the cosmos. For example, one key objective of the proposed work is to calculate how neutrinos change from one kind to another in the dense environment of a supernova and in the very early universe, and what this process might mean for the synthesis of the elements. Another objective is to use what we know about how the light nuclei are formed in the first seconds of the universe, together with results of observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation, to probe unmeasured neutrino properties, e.g., the neutrino rest mass. That this work will have the potential to fuel developments in two seemingly disjoint fields, with nuclear physics as the essential fulcrum, is one obvious broader impact. Another is that this project should serve as an excellent training ground for graduate students. Likewise, the Quarks-to-Cosmos Summer School and the UCSD Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences outreach efforts will convey the excitement of nuclear astrophysics to young people, from new postdocs and graduate students to undergraduates to secondary school students at a variety of institutions.