Research

Experimental Nuclear Physics

On the experimental side, our group has research programs on studies of hot QCD (Quantum ChromoDynamics) matter of quarks and gluons, and on searches for neutrinoless double beta decays. The group has been active in both the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) experiment and the newly formed sPHENIX experiment at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The neutrino program centers on the CUORE experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. 

The RHIC at BNL has initiated a new scientific campaign to investigate major outstanding questions in QCD: the quark chirality effects in Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) and searches for a possible critical point in QCD phase diagram. The UCLA Group continues to play a major role in these scientific endeavors. We are also interested in forward rapidity measurements from transversely polarized p+p collisions and are actively working on detector R&D towards future STAR upgrade and future Electron-Ion Collider

For questions, contact: Prof. Huan Huang

QCD and Nuclear Theory

On the theoretical side, our main research interests are perturbative QCD and strong interactions, and their applications in high energy nuclear and particle physics. Our research spans over three directions: hadron physics; QCD collider physics; heavy ion physics. 

For hadron physics, our main focus is to develop QCD theory for quantum 3D imaging of the proton. For QCD collider physics, we study jets, jet substructure, and heavy flavor production in high energy physics. For heavy ion physics, we mainly study hard scattering in nucleus and heavy ion collisions. Our research efforts are closely connected to the experimental programs at RHIC at BNL, Jefferson Lab, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Europe, as well as the future Electron Ion Collider (EIC) in US. EIC is a planned flagship nuclear physics research facility to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory. When finished, the new collider would provide unparalleled capabilities for exploring the behaviors of the fundamental particles and forces that bind atomic nuclei together. For more information, click here

For questions, contact: Prof. Zhongbo Kang