Institute of research into the fundamental laws of the Universe

Within Irfu as part of the CEA missions, the Nuclear Physics Division (DPhN) is leading experimental and theoretical fundamental research in nuclear physics. DPhN is also applying its knowledge and expertise to measurements and modeling related to society topics involving nuclear energy, to the design as well as to the dismantling of facilities.

Goals

The strong interaction, the main actor in nuclear physics, is occurring at two successive scale levels.
The first one concerns the assemblies of quarks and gluons, whether unconfined in a plasma or bound in the nucleon and in other hadrons. The second one concerns the assemblies of nucleons which constitute the nuclei of the different atoms. The DPhN primary goal is to deepen our understanding of those systems and of the reactions enabling their studies.

Fundamental questions are linked to this goal as for instance:

• How do very hot and very dense in quarks and gluons systems behave?
• What are their microscopic degrees of freedom and their excitations?
• How does quark confinement happen within nucleons?
• Can one understand hadron structure from the first principles?
• What is the interaction force between the nucleons inside the nucleus?
• …

SPhN activities are gathered around four research axis and one support activity in security and radiation protection:

• The quark and gluon plasma
• The nucleon structure
• The nucleus structure
• Nuclear reactions and applications
• Design and decommissioning of nuclear installations

The balance between the various research themes and applications, which mutually enrich and complement one another, is an important source of dynamism for the division.