Projects

The High Energy Nuclear Physics Group studies the features of both high temperature and low temperature Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) in strongly interacting matter using ultra high energy collisions of p+p, p+Pb and Pb+Pb at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with the A Large Ion Collider Experiment. (ALICE). Presently, the ORNL group leads a large collaboration of US groups conducting a central Barrel Tracking Upgrade (BTU) of the ALICE experiment for a new program of measurements on the Quark Gluon Plasma starting in 2002.

The synthesis of the heaviest nuclei and studies of their properties expands our understanding of the extent and structure of the atomic and nuclear worlds. Recently, ORNL was recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry for contributions to the discovery of two new elements, tennessine (atomic number 117) and moscovium (atomic number 115).

The COHERENT experiment makes use of the intense, high-quality neutrinos from the Spallation Neutron Source to measure neutrino-nucleus scattering. COHERENT made the first of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) in 2017 and its ongoing program with multiple target nuclei will probe physics beyond the standard model, and address questions in nuclear physics and astrophysics.

The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double beta decay (LEGEND) will be the most sensitive search for the ultra-rare phenomena of neutrinoless double-beta decay. Such decays are beyond the “Standard Model” of particle physics, and would have implications for the balance of matter and antimatter in the Universe.

The Precision Oscillation and Reactor Spectrum Experiment (PROSPECT) is a reactor neutrino experiment operating at ORNL’s HFIR that will search for hypothetical “sterile” neutrinos that have implications for particle physics, cosmology, and reactor physics. Contact: Alfredo Galindo-Uribarri (uribarri@ornl.gov)

ORNL and UTK are leading an effort to combine a variety of nuclear spectroscopy detector systems into a Decay Station for frontier measurements of nuclei at the extremes of stability at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.

https://fds.ornl.gov

The JENSA gas jet target system is an ultra-dense, pure. narrow jet of gas that, when bombarded by accelerated beams, enables measurements of thermonuclear reactions that drive exploding stars.

The Separator for Capture Reactions (SECAR) is a detector system under construction at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University that is optimized for direct measurements of thermonuclear reactions on unstable nuclei that cause some stars to explode.

The neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) experiment at the SNS will measure the electric dipole moment of the neutron - essentially the roundness of its charge distribution - to help distinguish between different theoretical explanations for the existence of matter in the universe.

https://nedm.ornl.gov/

The NUCLEI collaboration will be using some of the worlds most powerful supercomputers, including ORNL’s TITAN, to calculate properties and reactions of atomic nuclei.