Overview

Nuclear theory research at Notre Dame addresses the origin of the elements and the strongly correlated motion of nucleons within the nucleus, through investigations in theoretical nuclear astrophysics and nuclear structure physics. In nuclear astrophysics, we probe the properties of nuclei and nuclear matter under extremes of temperature and density, to constrain nuclear physics and astrophysical environments. In nuclear structure, we seek to understand the emergence of simple patterns, such as quantal rotational and vibrational modes, through ab initio and collective approaches, in nuclei from the very lightest to the heaviest and to the limits of stability. We also perform ab initio nuclear structure calculations aimed at constraining physics beyond the standard model.