The Frontiers of Nuclear Science Nuclear of Frontiers The Early Universe The Phases of QCD Future LHC Experiments Current RHIC Experiments emperature T R H IC E n e rg y S Quark-Gluon Plasma ca n Crossover ~170 MeV Future FAIR Experiments 1st ord er p ha se tr an s Critical Point it io n Color Hadron Gas Superconductor Nuclear Vacuum Matter Neutron Stars 0 MeV 0 MeV 900 MeV Baryon Chemical Potential The Frontiers of Nuclear Science December 2007 December 2007 A LONG RANGE PlaN The DOE/NSF Nuclear Science Advisory Committee U.S. Department of Energy • Office of Science • Office of Nuclear Physics National Science Foundation • Division of Physics • Nuclear Physics Program Early Universe The Phases of QCD Future LHC Experiments Current RHIC Experiments emperature T R H IC E n e rg y S Quark-Gluon Plasma ca n Crossover ~170 MeV Future FAIR Experiments 1st ord er p ha se tr an s Critical Point it io n Color Hadron Gas Superconductor Nuclear Vacuum Matter Neutron Stars 0 MeV 0 MeV 900 MeV Baryon Chemical Potential The Frontiers of Nuclear Science A LONG RANGE PlaN Contents Preface. 1 1 ..Overview.and.Recommendations . 3 2 ..The.Science. 13 Quantum.Chromodynamics:.From.the.Structure.of.. Hadrons.to.the.Phases.of.Nuclear.Matter. 14 QCD.and.the.Structure.of.Hadrons. 16 The.Phases.of.Nuclear.Matter. 35 The.Emerging.QCD.Frontier:.The.Electron-Ion.Collider. 50 Nuclei:.From.Structure.to.Exploding.Stars. 57 In.Search.of.the.New.Standard.Model . 75 3 ..The.Tools.of.Nuclear.Science. 93 Facilities.for.Nuclear.Science. 94 International.Collaborations.and.Facilities . 112 4 ..Education:.Training.the.Next.Generation. 119 5 ..The.Broader.Impacts.of.Nuclear.Science. 131 Connections.to.Other.Fields. 132 Applications . 142 6 ..Recommendations. 153 7 .. Resources. 159 8 ..Appendix. 165 Charge.Letter . 166 NSAC.Long.Range.Plan.Working.Group. 169 Long.Range.Plan.Town.Meetings. 170 Glossary . 171 The Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Robert.Tribble.(Chair). Texas.A&M.University Douglas.Bryman. TRIUMF,.University.of.British.Columbia David.Dean. Oak.Ridge.National.Laboratory Charlotte.Elster. Ohio.University Rolf.Ent. Thomas.Jefferson.National.Accelerator.Facility Thomas.Glasmacher. Michigan.State.University/National.Superconducting. Cyclotron.Laboratory Ulrich.Heinz. The.Ohio.State.University Xiangdong.Ji. University.of.Maryland Roy.Lacey. State.University.of.New.York.–.Stony.Brook I-Yang.Lee. Lawrence.Berkeley.National.Laboratory Naomi.Makins. University.of.Illinois Richard.Milner. Massachusetts.Institute.of.Technology Michael.Ramsey-Musolf. University.of.Wisconsin Heino.Nitsche. University.of.California–Berkeley Guy.Savard. University.of.Chicago/Argonne.National.Laboratory Susan.Seestrom. Los.Alamos.National.Laboratory Thomas.Ulrich. Brookhaven.National.Laboratory Ubirajara.van.Kolck. University.of.Arizona John.Wilkerson. University.of.Washington William.Zajc. Columbia.University iii Preface n.a.letter.dated.July.17,.2006,.the.Department. and.Asia ..Already.Japan.has.spent.over.$1 5. .billion.on.new. of.Energy’s.(DOE).Office.of.Science.for.Nuclear. and.upgraded.nuclear.science.facilities.in.the.last.decade .. Physics.and.the.National.Science.Foundation’s.(NSF). Similarly.Europe,.led.by.Germany.and.France,.has.spent.or. IMathematical.and.Physical.Sciences.Directorate.charged.the. committed.close.to.$2.billion.on.major.new.projects ..China. Nuclear.Science.Advisory.Committee.(NSAC).to.“conduct. is.now.building.new.nuclear.science.research.facilities,.and. a.study.of.the.opportunities.and.priorities.for.U .S ..nuclear. India.promises.to.launch.its.own.new.construction.projects. physics.research.and.recommend.a.long.range.plan.that. soon ..The.world’s.investments.in.new.and.upgraded.nuclear. will.provide.a.framework.for.coordinated.advancement.of. science.research.facilities.will.soon.top.$4.billion ..During. the.nation’s.nuclear.science.research.programs.over.the.next. this.same.period,.the.United.States.has.had.no.major.new. decade ”. .This.request.set.in.motion.a.bottom-up.review.and. construction.projects.in.the.field .. forward.look.by.the.nuclear.science.community ..With.input. By.following.through.on.the.commitment.to.double.the. from.this.community-wide.process,.a.59.member.working. funding.for.physical.science.research.over.the.next.decade,. group,.which.included.the.present.NSAC.members,.gathered. the.United.States.can.provide.the.resources.needed.to. at.the.beginning.of.May,.2007,.to.develop.guidance.on.how. maintain.its.competitive.edge.in.nuclear.science ..New.funds. to.optimize.the.future.research.directions.for.the.field.based. for.the.field.would.be.devoted.to.much-needed.facility.and. on.the.projected.resources.outlined.in.the.charge.letter.from. detector.construction ..Operations.at.existing.facilities.would. DOE.and.NSF ..A.new.long.range.plan—The Frontiers of continue.at.approximately.the.same.level.as.today ..The.size.of. Nuclear Science—grew.out.of.this.meeting .. the.permanent.research.staff.would.remain.roughly.con- For.the.last.decade,.the.top.priority.for.nuclear.science. stant ..But.growth.in.the.number.of.graduate.students.would. has.been.to.utilize.the.flagship.facilities.that.were.built.with. be.accommodated.to.produce.the.future.workforce.for.the. investments.by.the.nation.in.the.1980s.and.1990s ..Research. country ..Projections.indicate.that.an.increase.of.about.20%. with.these.facilities.has.led.to.many.significant.new.discov- is.needed.over.today’s.Ph .D ..production.in.order.to.meet. eries.that.have.changed.our.understanding.of.the.world.in. the.demands.to.fill.new.positions.in.industry,.medicine,.and. which.we.live ..But.new.discoveries.demand.new.facilities,. national.laboratories.and.to.fill.replacement.positions.from. and.the.successes.cannot.continue.indefinitely.without.new. retirements.(particularly.at.universities.and.national.labs) .. investment . Furthermore,.the.investment.into.new.and.upgraded.facilities. Based.largely.on.the.research.of.the.past.decade,.the.path. and.detectors.promises.to.yield.applications.in.many.areas. that.will.lead.to.continued.progress.and.future.discoveries.in. including.energy,.medicine,.homeland.security,.and.materials. nuclear.science.is.now.clear ..Following.the.path.will.require. research . the.new.and.upgraded.facilities.and.detectors.outlined.in. The.new.plan.presented.here,.The Frontiers of Nuclear this.long.range.plan ..The.U .S ..nuclear.science.community.is. Science,.gives.the.guidance.that,.if.followed,.will.guarantee. committed.to.this.course ..Without.new.investments,.future. that.the.United.States.continues.to.be.a.leader.in.nuclear.sci- research.in.the.field.will.be.dominated.by.scientists.in.Europe. ence.research.into.the.foreseeable.future .. Overview and Recommendations 1IntRODUctiON Collider.at.Brookhaven.National.Laboratory ..The.experi- ments.performed.at.these.two.facilities.have.fundamentally. The.visible.matter.in.the.universe—the.material.that. changed.our.knowledge.of.QCD.and.how.it.defines.nuclei.as. makes.up.stars,.planets,.and.us—has.existed.for.billions.of. they.exist.today,.as.well.as.how.it.determines.the.properties. years ..But.only.recently.have.we.had.the.knowledge.and.the. of.matter.that.existed.in.the.hot-dense.plasma.soon.after.the. tools.necessary.to.begin.to.explain.its.origin,.evolution,.and. Big.Bang.and.in.the.dense.cores.of.neutron.stars ..Elsewhere,. structure ..Nuclear.scientists.around.the.world.have.made.tre- nuclear.scientists’.recent.measurements.of.neutrino.properties. mendous.strides.toward.this.goal.over.the.past.few.decades .. have.played.a.key.role.in.verifying.that.neutrino.oscillations. And.through.that.effort,.we.have.developed.applications. occur—and.hence,.that.neutrinos.have.mass ..Together.with. that.make.our.world.safer.and.healthier ..But.the.task.is.a. the.still.unexplained.predominance.of.matter.over.antimatter. great.challenge—the.strong.force.that.creates.matter.behaves. in.the.universe,.this.startling.discovery.provides.our.first.look. like.no.other.force.in.nature ..To.fully.understand.it.requires. beyond.the.Standard.Model ..Nuclear.physics.is.now.poised.to. unique.techniques.and.tools ..The.United.States.has.long. discover.key.ingredients.of.the.New.Standard.Model.through. played.a.leading.role.in.this.quest,.and.with.the.new.invest- exquisitely.sensitive.neutrino.studies.and.fundamental.sym- ments.outlined.in.this.Long.Range.Plan,.we.will.continue.to. metry.tests.that.will.complement.new.particle.searches.at.the. be.a.leader.in.the.field.well.into.the.future .. Large.Hadron.Collider.(LHC) . Our.evolving.understanding.of.nuclear.science.has.been. Theoretical.advances.using.next-generation.computing. closely.intertwined.with.the.multiple.revolutions.that.trans- facilities,.coupled.with.new.experiments.on.rare.isotopes. formed.physics.in.the.20th.century ..Following.the.initial. at.National.Science.Foundation’s.(NSF).flagship.facility,. discovery.of.radioactive.decay.in.1896,.a.theoretical.founda- the.National.Superconducting.Cyclotron.Laboratory.at. tion.for.the.field.soon.began.to.emerge.with.the.introduction. Michigan.State.University.(upgraded.in.2001),.are.advancing. of.quantum.mechanics,.together.with.Einstein’s.insight.that. our.understanding.of.nuclei.to.new.levels—and.opening.up. mass.and.energy.were.truly.interchangeable—a.fact.that. the.real.possibility.of.developing.a.truly.predictive.theory.to. would.prove.to.have.huge.implications.for.electrical.power. describe.nuclei.and.their.interactions ..Meanwhile,.the.past. generation.and.national.security ..In.the.middle.decades.of. decade.has.produced.major.advances.in.our.knowledge.of.