Conceptual art showcases how leadership-class supercomputing enables predictive, first-principles simulations that connect the structure of atomic nuclei with neutron-star physics across nearly 18 orders of magnitude in scale.
Image credit: Conceptual art by LeJean Hardin and Andy Sproles, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
This project will use advanced ab initio quantum many-body methods and high-performance computing to predict nuclear structure, reactions, and fundamental interactions, enabling simulations beyond current experimental reach. It will advance the science of nuclei at major laboratories, driving discoveries in nuclear physics, astrophysics, and fundamental symmetries.
This proposal targets experiments and science at ATLAS (Argonne National Laboratory), the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), CEBAF (Jefferson Laboratory), the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and the ton-scale detector (LEGEND-1000) for neutrinoless double beta-decay. We are targeting the science outlined in 2023 the Long-Range Plan for Nuclear Science, and will enable science not available previously and accelerate scientific discovery through high-performance computing. The proposed computations will lead to significant improvements in the simulation capabilities of atomic nuclei and nuclear matter, and their reactions with neutrinos and electrons. We will advance our understanding of nuclear phenomena by targeting predictive capabilities regarding structure and reactions of light nuclei and few-nucleon systems, precision calculations of nuclear matrix elements for fundamental symmetries, neutrino and electron interactions in nuclei, and properties of nuclei and nuclear matter. We will employ advanced ab initio quantum many-body techniques coupled with applied mathematics and computer science methods targeted for efficient use of large-scale high performance computing environments. We will also perform state-of-the-art simulations to provide quantified predictions where direct experiment is not possible or is subject to large uncertainties. Such calculations are relevant to many applications in nuclear energy, nuclear security, and nuclear astrophysics, since rare nuclei lie at the heart of nucleosynthesis and energy generation in stars.
