APS Division of Nuclear Physics

The Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) is comprised of scientists and educators who study fundamental problems related to the nature of matter. Nuclear scientists probe the properties of nuclei and nuclear matter and the interactions of their ultimate constituents — quarks and gluons. They also address interdisciplinary questions: the basis of fundamental symmetries in nature, the first moments of the universe, the origin of the elements, education, and the application of nuclei and nuclear techniques to meet societal needs including medical diagnoses and treatment, energy, advanced materials, and Homeland Security. DNP interests have significant overlap with other APS Divisions, Topical Groups and Forums.

Vector Meson Production from Nuclei

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interaction, has been very successful in describing high-energy and short-distance-scale experiments, and less successful in explaining low-energy and large-distance scales. However, the symmetries of QCD (such as chiral symmetry) provide guiding principles in treating the non-perturbative regime. More