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Nuclear Physics - Experiment

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NSF 23-615

Important information about NSF’s implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Supports experimental research at the frontiers of nuclear physics in the following areas: nuclear astrophysics, structure and reactions; nuclear and hadron quantum chromodynamics; precision measurements of fundamental symmetries and constants.

Supports experimental research at the frontiers of nuclear physics in the following areas: nuclear astrophysics, structure and reactions; nuclear and hadron quantum chromodynamics; precision measurements of fundamental symmetries and constants.

Synopsis

All proposals submitted to the Physics Division that are not governed by another solicitation (such as CAREER) must be submitted to its division-wide solicitation: Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects.

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Nuclear physics ranges from the very tiny kernel at the center of all atoms to gigantic stars burning throughout the universe, as understood through the strong and electroweak interactions. It seeks to answer questions such as: 

  • What are the phases of strongly interacting matter and what roles do they play in the cosmos?
  • What is the internal structure of hadrons in terms of quarks and gluons?
  • What is the role of gluons in mesons, nucleons and nuclei? 
  • What is the nature of the nuclear force that binds protons and neutrons into stable nuclei and rare isotopes? 
  • How much mass do neutrinos have and could they be their own anti-particle? Could neutrinos help us understand why there is more matter than anti-matter in the universe?

Responding to these fundamental questions is part of human nature and leads students as well as other researchers to develop both innovative and incremental advances in nuclear physics and other fields.

The experimental nuclear physics program supports research at the frontiers of nuclear science, including: properties and behavior of nuclei and nuclear matter under extreme conditions, and/or as they relate to astrophysical phenomena; the quark-gluon basis for the structure and dynamics of hadrons and nuclei; phase transitions of nuclear matter from normal nuclear density and temperature to the predicted high-temperature quark-gluon plasma; basic interactions and fundamental symmetries; and neutrino properties as determined through neutrino-less double beta decay. This research involves many venues, including low-energy to multi-GeV electrons and photons; intermediate-energy light ions; low-energy to relativistic heavy ions, including radioactive beams; cold and ultra-cold neutrons; weakly decaying nuclei; as well as non-accelerator-based experiments. Proposals that include scientific scope outside the program may be co-reviewed with other programs within the Physics Division and/or other Divisions. Proposals submitted to the program that are determined to be more complex may, at the discretion of the Program Officer, be subjected to an additional level of review.

The program supports university user groups executing experiments at a large number of laboratories and facilities in the United States and abroad.  The program also supports smaller accelerator facilities, such as those at Florida State University and the University of Notre Dame. Some awards are co-funded with other programs in the Physics Division and in other divisions.

Program contacts

Name Email Phone Organization
Allena K. Opper
AOPPER@nsf.gov (703) 292-8958 MPS/OAD
Senta V. Greene
segreene@nsf.gov (703) 292-5183 MPS/PHY

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