Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Reactions

• Code: NUCCOR
• Science Domain: Nuclear Physics
• PI: Gaute Hagen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Description

Gaute Hagen leads a collaboration to advance a powerful tool to study a wide range of nuclei and their behaviors. NUCCOR, a nuclear physics application for deciphering the structure and reactions of atomic nuclei, was developed to help scientists expand understanding of fundamental interactions in the universe—interactions too difficult to observe in a laboratory. By optimizing the code on Summit, researchers could establish long-sought benchmarks based on first-principles computations that help guide and interpret experiments and gain insight into low-energy nuclear physics problems such as neutrinoless double-beta decay, a not-yet-observed form of atomic nuclei decay. This improved framework will inform research in nuclear energy, including the development of nuclear fusion and fission reactors, and energy generation in stars.