Â鶹´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Assistant Physics Professor Kent Leung and the students in his nuclear physics lab are asking big questions about the universe. Questions like: \u201cHow did matter emerge following the Big Bang?\u201d \u201cAre there any undiscovered particles and forces out there?\u201d and \u201cHow do we describe the forces that hold neutrons together?\u201d With these questions and others, they\u2019re looking to further understand the vital role neutrons play in the universe.<\/p>\n
With the help of a five-year $616,289 CAREER Grant from the National Science Foundation, Leung aims to create a\u00a0new experimental nuclear physics research program<\/a>\u00a0that will work toward finding answers to those questions.<\/p>\n \u201cNeutrons participate in all four fundamental forces of nature \u2013 and perhaps in undiscovered forces too \u2013 making them an ideal system for expanding our knowledge in fields spanning nuclear physics, particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology,\u201d Leung says. \u201cDespite being the most abundant subatomic particle on Earth, neutrons have remained elusive experimentally because of their lack of electric charge and limited lifetime outside the atom before decaying. However, these same properties make them an ideal testbed and probe for new science.\u201d<\/p>\n The NSF CAREER grant builds on a five-year $436,000 grant Leung was awarded last September from the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s\u00a0Oak Ridge National Laboratory<\/a>, which supports equipment for research into the neutron\u2019s extremely small electric dipole moment, which has never been observed. The electric dipole moment is a measure of how electric charge is distributed within a neutron. Determining its value could shed light on fundamental problems in physics, including how more matter than antimatter was leftover after the Big Bang or the existence of new particles that might explain dark matter.<\/p>\n