Report sets groundwork for long-term path of US nuclear physics research

Science : On Wednesday, the 2015 Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) presented its report on the state of the US’s nuclear physics program with regard to the Department of Energy and NSF. Included were four recommendations for the long-range future of research in the US. The first recommendation is for an experiment to search for evidence of a specific type of nuclear decay—double beta—that would only be possible if neutrinos are their own antiparticles. The second recommendation is for the US to build an electron–ion collider. The report did not provide a timeline for the project, but said that it could not be completed until the end of the 2020s at the earliest. The main recommendation of the report was for the US to fully support the three major facilities currently under construction or in use: the upgraded Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Just two years ago, the NSAC was asked to choose between CEBAF and RHIC because of tightening budgets, but DOE’s funding has expanded enough to maintain all three. The final recommendation is to increase funding for small- and mid-scale projects, which were not as well supported while FRIB was being funded. The report makes the recommendations under the assumption that nuclear physics funding will increase between 3.5% and 4% annually for the next 10 years.