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Physics

Areas of Focus

The core of Argonne’s physics research, described in the themes below, tackles some of the most fundamental challenges in modern science, shaping our understanding of both tiny objects at the center of the atom and some of the largest structures in the universe.

Research Area

Accelerator R&D

Accelerator Development in Argonne’s Physics Division specializes in the design, fabrication and commissioning of high-intensity ion and electron accelerator systems
Research Area

Cold Atoms and Molecules

Argonne researchers employ myriad cooling and trapping techniques to precisely control the external and internal degree of freedom of atoms and molecules of interest.
Research Area

Hadronic Physics

The focus of Argonne’s hadron physics to understand how the strong force gives rise to the mass, spin and dynamic structure of protons and neutrons, which make up almost all visible matter in our universe.
Research Area

Many-body Theory

We study the properties of atomic nuclei and neutron-star matter starting from the interactions between the constituent protons and neutrons, as probed by experiments at ATLAS, FRIB, and other facilities worldwide.
Research Area

Nuclear Astrophysics

Nuclear astrophysics includes the study of how all the elements in the universe were created and how stars evolve during their lifetime.
Physics Division Cosmos
Research Area

Nuclear Structure

Argonne physicists work to understand the structure of nuclei, both stable and radioactive, found here on Earth and produced in the cosmos.
Physics Division Nuclear Structure
Research Area

Physics Beyond the Standard Model

Argonne’s Physics Division conducts precision experiments aimed at testing the fundamental symmetries inherent in the basic laws of physics. In their core, these experiments search for signatures of phenomena that lie beyond the Standard Model of physics.
Ra_EDM_more-lasers-and-optics.jpg
Research Area

Quantum Chromodynamics in Nuclei

Understanding the nucleus in terms of their fundamental constituents in Quantum Chromodynamics: quarks and gluons, and the mechanisms and emergent properties of the strong interaction.
Research Area

The SoLID Experiment

The unprecedented combination of luminosity and acceptance, made possible with the SoLID apparatus in Hall A, will unlock access to physics processes that cannot be measured anywhere else.