Department of Physics

Our research program is at the forefront of the studies of the fundamental properties of the nucleons, i.e. the proton and neutron, which are the two building blocks of the atomic nucleus. The interactions of quarks and gluons, the underlying constituents of strongly interacting matter, are well described by the basic theory, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). However, the way in which quarks and gluons are confined within the nucleons and the mesons (responsible for nuclear forces), is poorly understood in QCD. We concentrate on experiments that use spin degrees of freedom (i.e. using polarized targets and beams) in electron-nucleon/nucleus interactions to extract new information about the properties of these fundamental building blocks of nature and lend new insights into these basic and longstanding problems. We are unique among university based research groups as we have the capabilities of developing, building and maintaining the cryogenic polarized targets critical for this research which is carried out at the Jefferson Lab  and FermiLab whose unique capabilities make this research possible.