Nuclear Physics at INFN Bari
In Italy, Nuclear Physics has a long and important tradition, thanks to the research on radioactivity of the Via Panisperna group in the 30s of the last century: the interest of scientists in this new field would soon lead to the discovery of various radioactive elements and finally of nuclear fission thanks to the technique of slow neutrons.
Today, research on core physics spans a wider range of energies: from the mechanisms that regulate the life of stars, to the conditions of the universe a few moments after the Big Bang. The mission to explore the physics of the nucleus is now interpreted in a very broad sense, including e.g., studies of the difference between matter and antimatter, the distribution of quarks within nucleons or the study of the nucleus as a complex multibody system at the mesoscopic scale. In the INFN, scientific research in this area is coordinated by the National Scientific Commission 3, and locally by Group 3.
The INFN division in Bari participates in the following research activities in this field:
ALICE A Large Ion Collider Experiment
The ALICE experiment aims to study the effects of interactions between heavy nuclei accelerated at high energies with CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The extreme conditions of the impact recreate those of the Universe shortly after the Big Bang, when the constituents of matter, quarks and gluons, were free and not confined within protons and neutrons as today.
The study of this phase of the evolution of the Universe will help us to understand the processes by which the particles that we observe today in nature and in particle accelerators are formed.
Bachelor/Master Thesis
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Local coordinator: Mastroserio Annalisa
JLAB12 Jefferson Lab
It includes all INFN experiments at Jefferson Lab, located in Newport News, Virginia, USA and dedicated to the study of hadron physics by means of an electron beam of high intensity and energy up to 12 GeV.
The experiments investigate the internal dynamics and structure of protons, neutrons and nuclei through the scattering of polarized electrons.
The Bari Group is involved in the study of nucleon form factors and the interaction of hadrons in (hyper)nuclei.
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Local coordinator: Perrino Roberto
LUNA Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics
the main goal of the LUNA experiment is the study of the nuclear reactions fundamental for stellar evolution.
These reactions have a dual function: they generate most of the energy produced by stars and allow the synthesis of almost all elements existing in nature. Since the reactions sought are very rare and are difficult to measure in surface laboratory, LUNA is located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (L’Aquila), below the namesake mountain that, with its 1400 m of rock, guarantees the so called “cosmic silence”.
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Local coordinator: Ciani Giovanni Francesco
n_TOF
The n_TOF experiment concerns the study of neutron-induced reactions of interest for Nuclear Astrophysics and Applications. In particular, the experimental activity is focused on the reactions underlying the production of elements in the Universe (stellar and Big Bang nucleosynthesis) as well as, in the application field, on measures relevant for the production of energy in fission and fusion reactors, for medical physics and neutron imaging.
The project takes place at the time of flight facility n_TOF (from “neutron Time-of-Flight) at CERN in Geneva. The neutron beam is produced by spallation from a primary beam of protons from 20 GeV/c of the PS (proto-synchrotron), on a lead target. The measurements are carried out in three experimental areas, located at different distances from the spallation source: EAR1, at 200 m and horizontal beam line, EAR2, at 20 m on the vertical, and NEAR, at 1.5 m. Each area is equipped with numerous detectors of various types, scintillation, solid state and gas. These include a 4p calorimeter for measuring neutron capture reactions (a detail is shown in the figure).
More than 120 researchers from 40 universities and research institutions, mostly European, are participating in the project. The Italian participation consists of several INFN Universities and Sections (Bari, Bologna, Catania, National Laboratories of Legnaro, Frascati and the South, Perugia, Rome, Turin and Trieste).
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Local coordinator: Giuseppe Tagliente
ePIC Electron-Proton/Ion Collider
The experimental initiative ePIC (electron-Proton/Ion Collider) brings together the Italian community of researchers involved in one of the most advanced projects in high-energy physics: the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).
This future accelerator will enable collisions between electrons and ions, providing a powerful new tool to explore the internal structure of matter in unprecedented detail.
The goal is to address some of the key open questions in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD):
– How do the mass and spin of the nucleon emerge from the interactions of quarks and gluons?
– Does a saturation regime of gluon density exist at low x?
– How does the parton distribution change when going from a nucleon to a nucleus?
To tackle these questions, ePIC will study scattering processes between polarized electrons and ions (from hydrogen up to lead), with
center-of-mass energies ranging from 40 to 120 GeV and using high-intensity beams.
The ePIC Collaboration is an international effort comprising more than 1100 members from 181 institutions across 25 countries and 4 world regions.
Italy plays an active role through 15 INFN sections, contributing both to detector development and physics studies.
The main Italian technological contributions include: the dual-radiator RICH detector (dRICH), the innermost layers of the Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT-IB), and the uRWELL-based EndCap trackers(uRWELL-ECT).
INFN is also responsible for the construction of the ePIC solenoidal magnet (MARCO).
In parallel, the Italian ePIC community is involved in the development and testing of the DAQ Streaming Readout (SRO) system, as well as in
advanced physics studies, including: exclusive processes (GPDs), inclusive processes (TMDs via SIDIS),diffractive physics (DPDFs), and reconstruction of hadrons containing heavy quarks.
Currently, activities are focused on detector prototyping and validation, while the construction phase is expected to begin in the coming years, in preparation for the first collisions foreseen in the early 2030s.
The Bari ePIC group is responsible for the construction of the SVT-IB detector, contributes to the dRICH detector through the characterization of aerogel radiator materials, and is involved in studies of heavy-flavour hadron production.
More information:
ePIC Italia
ePIC Italia social
ePIC Collaboration
Local coordinator: Domenico Colella
National coordinator: Domenico Elia
FOOT
The main purpose of the FOOT experiment (FragmentatiOn Of Target) is to improve the tumor treatments in hadrontherapy by studying the behavior of the particle beams usually employed. These particles (mainly protons and carbon ions) interact with the nuclei constituting the human body, then leading to nuclear fragmentation. The nuclear fragments are an important source of biological damage, both for cancer cells and for nearby healthy tissues, and it is of fundamental importance to have a deep knowledge of this process in order to make the most effective and safe medical treatment.
FOOT will measure with great precision the nuclear fragmentation cross-section of medium-light ions such as those that abound most in our organism (Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen), for which experimental measurements are absent in the energy range used in hadrontherapy (100-300 MeV / nucleon). The accuracy of the theoretical models is not in fact sufficient by itself to guarantee a satisfactory accuracy during the treatment of the patients.
The final goal of the detector is to measure the heavy fragment (Z>3) cross section with maximum uncertainty of 5% and the fragment energy spectrum with an energy resolution of the order of 1-2 MeV/u.
FOOT uses two independent setups: a nuclear emulsion spectrometer for the measurement of fragments with Z<=3 and a set up with electronic detectors for the measurement of fragments with Z>=3.
In the Bari section we deal with the creation of nuclear emulsion spectrometers and the analysis of the related data, and the development of the detector with Microstrip Silicon Detector which is part of the electronic setup.
Local coordinator: Giuliana Galati
