The University of Maryland Experimental Nuclear Physics group will carry out program of research focused on the use of electroweak interactions to study the quark-based structure of nucleons. Particular emphasis will be placed on two major themes: the use of parity violating electron scattering to measure the structure of the proton as seen by weak interactions, and the use of polarization observables to provide precise measurements of the electromagnetic structure of both the proton and neutron. The primary component of the first theme is the G0 experiment at the DOE Jefferson Laboratory, which is about half-way through a multiyear program to measure the strange quark contributions to the nucleon structure over a wide range of momentum transfer. The second main component of the overall research program is to extend the measurement of the neutron's charge distribution to significantly higher momentum structure, and thus shorter distances, than has previously been achievable. The group's work will continue to development and maintain instrumentation for use on their experiments at Jefferson laboratory, as well as to analyze data and interpret results. The group will extend research opportunities to a number undergraduates, as well as to graduate students.
