Abstract
Atomic nuclei are the core of everything we can see. At the first level of approximation, their atomic weights are simply the sum of the masses of all the nucleons they contain. Each nucleon has a mass mN ≈ 1 GeV, i.e. approximately 2000-times the electron mass. The Higgs boson produces the latter, but what produces the nucleon mass? This is the crux: the vast bulk of the mass of a nucleon is lodged with the energy needed to hold quarks together inside it; and that is supposed to be explained by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the strong-interaction piece within the Standard Model. This contribution canvasses the potential for a coherent effort in QCD phenomenology and theory, coupled with experiments at existing and planned facilities, to reveal the origin and distribution of mass by focusing on the properties of the strong-interaction Nambu-Goldstone modes. Key experiments are approved at JLab 12; planned with COMPASS++/AMBER at CERN; and could deliver far-reaching insights by exploiting the unique capabilities foreseen at an electron ion collider.
Highlights
Lies a compact nucleus, comprised of neutrons and protons; and the structure and arrangements of all these things is supposed to be described by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the strong interaction part of the Standard Model
QCD is supposed to describe all of nuclear physics through interactions between quarks mediated by gluons
The natural mass-scale for nuclear physics is characterised by the proton mass: mp ≈ 1 GeV ≈ 2000 me, where me is the electron mass
Summary
The vast majority of mass comes from the energy needed to hold quarks together inside atoms.” These remarks highlight QCD, the quantum field theory formulated in four spacetime dimensions which defines what is arguably the most important piece of the Standard Model. Asymptotic freedom ensures that QCD’s ultraviolet behaviour is controllable; but the emergence of a gluon mass reveals a new frontier within the Standard Model because the existence of a running gluon mass, large at infrared momenta, has an impact on all analyses of the bound-state problem.
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