It is believed that the strong forces in atomic nuclei arise from even more elementary constituents, which are known as quarks and gluons. Quarks and gluons are well established in elementary particle physics, however, our knowledge of the role they play for the strong nuclear force is largely unknown. This research project will provide a microscopic understanding of the nuclear forces on this level. The method used is computer simulations of multi- quark and -gluon systems. The focus of the research is similar to the current experimental efforts at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and will complement it in some aspects. An Infrastructure Award towards a workstation for performing the lattice gauge calculations is being provided by the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.
