The goals of the project are to calculate corrections in support of experiments such as parity violating electron scattering that are searching for signals of physics beyond the standard model; to calculate accurately electromagnetic corrections to nucleon masses accounting for all we have learned about nucleon structure in recent times; to study potential nuclear physics applications of twisted photon states, which are photon states that carry very high angular momentum; to continue obtaining hadron theory results from the remarkable correspondence between the gauge theories that describe nuclear interaction in our world and theoretical models of gravity in higher dimensions; and to use nuclear physics knowledge to accurately obtain important nuclear size corrections to atomic energy splittings.
These projects will help bridge the gap between the theory of hadrons (particles that interact via the strong, or nuclear, force) and observed phenomena, and lead to greater understanding of the mechanisms of hadronic reactions. One project will also connect to another field, the field of atomic physics. They will also train new students, including undergraduates. The PI has had two successful women Ph. D. students, and the present project may extend opportunities for women entering the field. The PI is regularly at the Jefferson Laboratory and bridging the gap between university and national lab as well as between data and theory.
