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Department of Physics and Astronomy

Colloquium – Chris Monahan

Chris Monahan, William & Mary

Pictures of a proton: quarks, gluons and hadrons from first principles

Understanding in detail the properties of protons and neutrons, two of the basic building blocks of the visible Universe, has been a long-standing goal for nuclear physics. The strong nuclear force binds together quarks and gluons into protons, neutrons and other hadrons, but the nonlinear, strongly-coupled nature of the strong force makes calculations of hadron properties very challenging. Recent theoretical developments mean calculations of the internal structure of hadrons, using lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD), have now become possible. Recent proof-of-principle calculations of generalised parton distributions, which encode the three-dimensional structure of hadrons, marked the advent of a new era in lattice QCD calculations. I introduce the ideas that underpin these developments and summarise some of the most exciting recent results.

 

Jan 26, 2023 @ 4:00pm Central in Stevenson 4327; reception beforehand at 3:30pm in Stevenson 6333

Host: R. Scherrer; co-hosted by VandyGRAF

To join via Zoom, please contact Reina Beach (reina.beach@vanderbilt.edu) to request the Zoom link.

 

Prof. Chris Monahan obtained his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge in 2012. His postdoctoral research experience includes positions at William & Mary, The New High Energy Theory Center at Rutgers University, and the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington, Seattle. He joined William & Mary, and the Theory Group at Jefferson Lab, as a faculty member in 2019. His research focuses on nonperturbative field theory and its applications to searches for new physics and the nature of the strong nuclear force. He has been awarded an NSF CAREER and DOE Early Career Award, currently serves on P5 (the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel), and is Co-Founder and Director of Mentoring for Careers in Physics at William & Mary.