Nucleon Properties from First Principles

Graph of Calculation of the axial charge, an important benchmark quantity for the simulations.
Image: Forschungszentrum Jülich

Nucleons make up more than 99% of the mass of ordinary matter. Computing their properties from first principles, i.e. the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics, is complicated by the non-linear nature of the underlying equations. Only by using supercomputers can we attempt to compute these quantities with the necessary precision. Beyond shedding light on the nature of the nucleons, the results help to resolve some long-standing puzzles in nucleon structure physics and restrict possible models of physics beyond the Standard Model.

Read the complete user report at the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Stefan Krieg

Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute for Advanced Simulation, Jülich Supercomputing Centre