Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l'Univers

Irfu conducts fundamental research, mainly experimental but also theoretical, on nucleons and nuclei, elementary bricks of matter whose cohesion is ensured by strong interaction.

Strong interaction occurs at two successive scales. The first is the assembly of quarks and gluons, whether deconfined in plasma or bound in the nucleon and other hadrons. The second concerns the nucleon assemblies which constitute the nuclei of the different atoms. Irfu's objective is to deepen our knowledge of these systems, as well as to discover extreme states of nuclear matter:

• under extreme conditions of temperature and energy, nucleons and nuclei can lose their identity to give birth to a plasma of quarks and gluons, which one seeks to highlight;
• nuclei under extreme conditions of isospin (N-Z function), spin, Z load, deformation : exotic and superheavy nuclei.