Collaboration
Members

United States

J. Barney, Z. Chajecki, P. Danielewicz, J. Estee, M. Famiano, U. Garg, W. Lynch, A. McIntosh, R. Shane, M. B. Tsang, S. Tangwancharoen, G. Westfall, S. Yennello, M. Youngs

Japan

K. Ieki, T. Isobe, T. Murakami, J. Murata, Y. Nakai, S. Nishimura, A. Ono, H. Sakurai, A. Taketani, T. Usukura

China

F. Lu, R. Wang, Z. Xiao, Y. Zhang

United Kingdom

M. Chartier, R. Lemmon, W. Powell

France

E. Pollaco

Italy

G. Verde

Korea

B. Hong, G. Jhang

Poland

J. Lukasik

About the project

The Symmetry Energy Project (SEP) is an international collaboration of experimental and theoretical scientists whose goal is to obtain constraints on the asymmetry energy in the nuclear equation of state over a wide range of densities.

One of the scientific objectives of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a $550M accelerator to be built at Michigan State University (MSU), is to understand the "nature of neutron stars and dense nuclear matter" [LRP07]. This goal requires understanding the Equation of State (EoS) for neutron-rich matter over a range of densities.

To achieve this scientific objective, we propose a series of experiments at unique facilities based in the U.S. (the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University), Japan (the Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) at RIKEN) and Germany (the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) at Darmstadt). Each facility enables exploration of a different density range.

International collaboration

To conduct and interpret these experiments, we formed a strong international experimental and theoretical team of scientists, based largely at universities with strong records of undergraduate education and graduate training in nuclear science.

By doing experiments in RIKEN and GSI using beams not available in the US, our early career scientists will be working with an international group of scientists and gain experience working in foreign laboratories. The results and experience from these experiments are essential for continuing EoS research in FRIB.

Nuclear science is an international effort where many advances require cooperation among scientists across borders. This is particularly true due to the significant infrastructure demands of large accelerators and detector systems. Additionally, many of the theoretical advances are complex and benefit significantly from cross-border collaborations. The proposed research is interdisciplinary, involving nuclear physics and astrophysics. The list of participants in the collaboration includes well-known nuclear theorists and astrophysicists, with expertise vital to interpret the experimental results.