Major new publication on the current state of research of the strong interaction

An extensive new publication summarizes the current research status and provides a vision for future research and development around the strong interaction. The strong interaction is one of the four fundamental forces of physics and ensures the stability of matter binding together the elementary particle, the quarks, within the constituents of the atomic nuclei, the protons and neutrons. Theoretically it is described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Prof. Dr. Nora Brambilla from the Technische Universität München and Principal Investigator of the Excellence Cluster Universe together with further members of the Excellence Cluster Universe is one of the major contributors of the new publication.

At the beginning of a new era in particle physics initiated by the discovery of the Higgs particle at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2012 it is relevant to discuss also the role, impact and perspectives of the physics of the strong interactions. This has been the scope of a working group setup two years ago by Nora Brambilla on occasion of the conference "Xth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum" held on the Research Campus Garching two years ago with about 400 participating scientists form all fields of the strong interaction. In this framework a working group of several tens of people has been set up organized by general editors and topical conveners. Nora Brambilla as a general editor and the four conveners Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ketzer, PD Dr. Johanna Erdmenger, Prof. Dr. Laura Fabbietti and PD Dr. Antonio Vairo are Principal Investigators of the Excellence Cluster Universe. After two years of work the results of this endeavor will now be published in the European Physical Journal C.  

The document aims at highlighting the status and challenges of strong-interaction physics addressing questions like: What are the latest achievements and highlights related to the strong interaction? What important open problems remain? What are the most promising avenues for further investigation? What do experiments need from theory? What does theory need from experiments?

A major part of the achieved scientific work has been nurtured in the framework of the conference series on "Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum," which has served over the years as a discussion forum for scientists working in the field. The topics organization is loosely connected to the topical sessions of the conference: Light Quarks, Heavy Quarks, QCD and New Physics, Deconfinement, Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics, Vacuum Structure and Confinement as well as Strongly Coupled Theories.

This research work discusses how strong interaction is closely connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly-coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. It is shown how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work a perspective is offered on the many research streams, which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.

Further information:
QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories: challenges and perspectives

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nora Brambilla
Physik-Department T30f? 
Technische Universität München?
James-Franck-Str. 1
85747 Garching

E-Mail: nora.brambilla@ph.tum.de
Tel.: +49 89 289 12353