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Directorate
for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Division of Physics
The Division of Physics (PHY) supports
a wide range of activities in the different subfields of physics. The primary
mode of funding is to individual investigators or small groups. The division
also funds the operation of two large-scale accelerator facilities (the
Cornell Electron Storage Ring and the Michigan State University National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory); the Laser Interferometer Gravitational
Wave Observatory; several smaller-scale accelerators; a number of centers
in atomic, molecular, and optical physics and in theoretical physics; and
a new program of Physics Frontiers Centers.
The research activities in the Physics Division are inextricably linked
to education, and support about 800 graduate students who are fully engaged
in research. Some of these activities involve substantial numbers of undergraduate
students as well, especially the summer activities that are centered around
the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. The division
now supports approximately 50 REU Sites. Research activities at 4-year colleges
are supported through the Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Program.
The division also supports Research Experiences for Teachers through grants
to provide grade K–12 science teachers with research training opportunities.
In addition, the division offers significant training opportunities for
young people through its support of about 500 postdoctoral positions. The
division also supports outreach activities coupled to research that are
intended to convey the excitement of physics to students in grades K–12
and to help educate the public at large in forefront science.
 For
More Information
Write to the Division of Physics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson
Boulevard, Room 1015, Arlington, VA 22230; or contact the division by telephone,
703-292-8890; or visit the PHY home page, http://www.nsf.gov/mps/divisions/phy.
1. Atomic, Molecular, Optical, and Plasma Physics
In Atomic and
Molecular Physics, research is supported in areas such as quantum control,
cooling and trapping of atoms and ions, low-temperature collision dynamics,
the collective behavior of atoms in weakly interacting gases (Bose-Einstein
condensates), precision measurements of fundamental constants, and the
effects of electron correlation on structure and dynamics. In Optical Physics,
support
is provided in areas such as nonlinear response of isolated atoms to intense,
ultrashort electromagnetic fields; the atom/cavity interaction at high
fields; and quantum properties of the electromagnetic field. In basic Plasma
Physics,
support focuses on the study of the behavior of plasmas in confined magnetic
structures and in laser plasma interactions.
Several centers and one user facility are supported. The Joint Institute
for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) at the University of Colorado is supported
jointly with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. JILA conducts
leading-edge research in many aspects of atomic, molecular, and optical
physics. The Center for Ultracold Atoms, a joint MIT-Harvard University
activity, conducts research in the area of Bose-Einstein condensates and
coherent atom sources. The Large Aperture Plasma Device at UCLA is supported
jointly with the Department of Energy as a user facility for the study of
plasma waves.
2. Biological Physics
Supports projects in which the analytical
and experimental tools of physics are applied to the study of problems
that originate in the living world. Both experimental and theoretical projects
will be considered, although the main focus of the program is the experimental
area. Of particular interest are projects in which new experimental approaches
are brought to bear on a well-identified problem. These approaches should,
at the same time, have the potential for broad applicability to a set of
similar problems, thereby adding to the set of tools the scientist has
for
addressing biological problems in general. While the problems under study
must be important to advancing understanding of the living world in a meaningful
way, particular emphasis will be placed on those projects in which the
lessons learned from the application serve to foster new concepts and ideas
that
expand the intellectual basis of physics. The program funds individual
investigators, although collaborative proposals between physicists and biologists
are welcome.
3. Elementary Particle Physics
Supports research on the properties
and interactions of elementary particles, the most fundamental building
blocks of matter, at the frontiers of energy and sensitivity. Research
includes the exploration of quarks and leptons and interactions among these
elementary
constituents. The program supports university groups working at major accelerator
laboratories, including those operated by the Department of Energy, and
university groups involved in the construction of detectors for the Large
Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
The program supports the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR), which produces
electron and positron colliding beams that allow detailed studies by university
groups of b-meson physics and upsilon physics, and facilitates an aggressive
program of synchrotron radiation research at the Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron
Source, which is operated by the Division of Materials Research. CESR is
among the highest luminosity electron-positron colliders in the world in
this energy range. CESR also maintains a vigorous program of accelerator
research and development.
4. Gravitational Physics
Emphasizes the theory of strong gravitational
fields and their application to astrophysics and cosmology, computer simulations
of strong gravitational fields, gravitational radiation, and construction
of a quantum theory of gravity. The program oversees the management of
the construction, commissioning, and operation of the Laser Interferometer
Gravity
Wave Observatory (LIGO) and provides support for LIGO users and other experimental
investigations in gravitational physics and related areas.
5. Nuclear Physics
Supports research on the properties and behavior
of nuclei and nuclear matter under extreme conditions; the quark-gluon
basis for the structure and dynamics of nuclear matter (which is now given
in
terms of mesons and nucleons); phase transitions of nuclear matter from
normal nuclear density and temperature to the predicted high-temperature
quark-gluon plasma; and basic interactions and fundamental symmetries.
This research involves many probes, including intermediate-energy to multi-GeV
electrons and photons; intermediate-energy light ions; low-energy to relativistic
heavy ions, including radioactive beams; and non-accelerator-based studies.
Other important components of the program include accelerator physics,
interdisciplinary
efforts, and applications to other fields.
The program supports university user groups executing experiments at a
large number of laboratories in the United States and abroad, and a national
user facility—the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, a
superconducting, heavy-ion cyclotron facility at Michigan State University.
The program also supports smaller accelerator facilities, such as those
at Florida State University, the University of Notre Dame, and the State
University of New York at Stony Brook.
6. Particle and Nuclear Astrophysics
Supports university groups
conducting research in particle and nuclear astrophysics. Activities supported
currently include high-energy cosmic ray studies, solar and high-energy
neutrino astrophysics, the study of gamma ray bursts, and searches for
dark matter. Under construction are the Auger, HiRes, STACEE, and Milagro
cosmic
ray/gamma ray detectors, the Borexino solar neutrino detector, the Amanda
II high-energy neutrino detector, and the CDMS II and DRIFT dark matter
detectors. Support also is provided for accelerator-based nuclear astrophysics
studies of stellar process, nucleosynthesis, and processes related to cosmology
and the early universe.
7. Theoretical Physics
Supports the development of qualitative and
quantitative understanding of fundamental physical systems, ranging from
the most elementary constituents of matter through nuclei and atoms to
astrophysical objects. This includes formulating new approaches for theoretical,
computational,
and experimental research that explore the fundamental laws of physics
and the behavior of physical systems; formulating quantitative hypotheses;
exploring
and analyzing the implications of such hypotheses computationally; and
in some cases, interpreting the results of experiments. Support is given
for
research in the following areas: elementary particle physics; nuclear physics;
atomic, molecular, optical, and plasma physics; astrophysics and cosmology;
and a broad spectrum of topics in mathematical physics, computational physics,
nonlinear dynamics, chaos, and statistical physics. The effort also includes
a considerable number of interdisciplinary grants.
In addition, the program supports infrastructure activities such as the
Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California at Santa
Barbara, the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular,
and Optical Physics, and the Aspen Center for Physics. These activities
include both short- and long-term visitor programs, workshops, and research
involving the participation of external scientists from universities, national
laboratories, and industry, as well as graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows.
8. Education and Interdisciplinary Research
Supports activities
in conjunction with NSF-wide programs such as Faculty Early Career Development
(CAREER), Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), and programs aimed
at women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. Further information
about all of these programs and activities is available in the Crosscutting
Investment Strategies section in this Guide.
The program also supports activities that seek to improve the education
and training of physics students—both undergraduate and graduate—such
as curriculum development for upper-level physics courses and activities
that are not included in specific programs elsewhere within NSF. Also supported
is research at the interface between physics and other disciplines—including
medical physics and computation—and extending to emerging areas. Broadening
activities related to research at the interface with other fields, possibly
not normally associated with physics, also may be considered.
9. Physics at the Information Frontier
Provides support for physics
proposals in three subareas: computational physics, information intensive
physics, and quantum information and revolutionary computing. Computational
physics focuses on computational problems in physics requiring significant
long-term code development and/or a medium to large collaborative effort
involving physicists or physicists interacting with applied mathematicians
and computer scientists. Information intensive physics seeks proposals
to (1) develop rapid, secure, and efficient access to physics data stores
rising
from Petabytes (today) to Exabytes (in 10 years) via heterogeneous and
distributed computing resources and networks of varying capability and reliability
and
(2) to develop internally consistent approaches to the usage of common
resources required in the multiple collaborations and serving virtual science
organizations
on a global scale. Quantum information and revolutionary computing supports
proposals that explore applications of quantum mechanics to new computing
paradigms for physics or that foster interactions between the physical,
mathematical, and computer scientists who push the frontiers of quantum
physics.
10. Physics Frontiers Centers (PFCs)
Support university-based centers
and large groups in cases where this mode of research is required to make
transformational advances in the most promising research areas. Proposals
will be considered in areas within the purview of the Division of Physics,
broadly interpreted—for example, atomic, molecular, optical, plasma,
elementary particle, nuclear, astro, gravitational, interdisciplinary, and
emerging areas of physics. Interdisciplinary physics is taken here to mean
research at the interface between physics and other disciplines—for
example, biophysics, quantum information science, and mathematical physics.
The purpose of the PFC Program is to enable major advances at the intellectual
frontiers of physics by providing needed resources not usually available
to individual investigators or small groups. PFCs make it possible to address
major challenges that require combinations of talents, skills, and/or disciplines;
specialized infrastructure; large collaborations; or centers/institutes
that catalyze rapid advances on the most promising research topics. Proposals
are received only in response to a program solicitation. The next solicitation
will be released in fiscal year 2004.
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