Nuclear Science in Europe: Present and Future Perspectives

by Prof. Muhsin Harakeh (KVI, Groningen, the Netherlands)

Thursday 2 Oct 2014, 15:00 → 16:30 Europe/Rome

163 (INFN edificio C)

In 2004, NuPECC published its Long-Range Plan “Perspectives for Nuclear Physics Research in Europe in the Coming Decade and Beyond”. Based on progress made in the fields of Hadron Physics and Quantum Chromo-Dynamics, Phases of Strongly Interacting Matter, Nuclear Structure and Dynamics, Nuclear Astrophysics, Fundamental Interactions and Applications of Nuclear Science, NuPECC made recommendations regarding the different research infrastructures that can address the important questions in nuclear science and offer exciting perspectives for research in these fields. Following some general recommendations, it recommended timely completion of ALICE and its full exploitation at the start of LHC. It recommended with the highest priority the construction of FAIR at GSI. After FAIR, it recommended the highest priority for EURISOL. Since EURISOL is a technically demanding project it recommended the construction or upgrade of intermediate ISOL facilities: SPIRAL2, SPES, HIE-ISOLDE and MAFF. Two of the recommended facilities: FAIR@GSI and SPIRAL2@GANIL made it to the first ESFRI Roadmap. A decade later the construction of SPIRAL2 and SPES is almost finished, and the construction of FAIR in a modularized form is also underway. In between, NuPECC published its Long-Range Plan 2010 “Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe” in which it emphasized the importance of the ESFRI FAIR@GSI and SPIRAL2@GANIL as well as the other RIs for the nuclear physics community. It recommended strongly the upgrade of ALICE and the construction of ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics) in Bucharest. ELI-NP is now part of the ESFRI Roadmap and its construction is underway. In this, talk I will present these developments and discuss the perspectives for research with the present facilities and those that are under construction.