Experimental Physics Division

The activities of the Experimental Physics Division (EPD) of the A. I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) began in 1967, when the 6 GeV Yerevan electron synchrotron was commissioned. Until the cessation of the synchrotron’s operation in 2005, the staff of the EPD carried out large-scale experiments, including measurements of the electromagnetic radii of protons and neutrons, studies of the hadronic properties of photons in pion photoproduction reactions on nuclei, investigations of nucleon resonance structure using polarized photons and targets, studies of nuclear photofragmentation mechanisms, as well as research on X-ray transition radiation and channeling radiation of relativistic electrons in monocrystals, among others.

 

The physicists of the EPD have obtained a number of important results that have significantly advanced the understanding of the fundamental properties of elementary particles and atomic nuclei. The reputation of AANL as a nuclear physics and accelerator research center has enabled the preservation and development of international collaborations with scientific institutions in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries, as well as full participation in international experimental research programs. In collaboration with Brno University (Czech Republic), nuclear reactions induced by secondary neutron beams are being studied. Specially produced low-intensity electron beams (10–20 e⁻/s) with energies of 10–75 MeV are used for the calibration of particle detectors.

 

Using the external proton beams of the C18/18 cyclotron commissioned at AANL, studies are planned on the cluster structure of light nuclei, including the alpha-cluster structure of the ¹²C nucleus. The aim is to generate secondary neutron beams and measure the cross-sections of reactions induced by them. The scientific activity of the division also includes research in low-energy nuclear physics, carried out using the upgraded LUE-75 linear electron accelerator, which provides a stable electron beam with energies up to 75 MeV and currents up to 1 μA. In this energy range, systematic studies of photonuclear reactions are conducted jointly by the EPD and physicists of Yerevan State University. In addition to fundamental research, work is also being carried out on the production of radioisotopes required for radiation diagnostics and therapy. For this purpose, the feasibility of producing thermal and subthermal neutron beams is being investigated for applications in boron (¹⁰B)-based neutron capture radiation therapy.

 

The division’s activities also include the study of rare nuclear processes in the underground laboratory of the Avan salt mine, as well as the development and fabrication of detectors for physical experiments, including plastic and crystal scintillators, neutron detectors, silicon microstrip detectors, radiofrequency photomultipliers, and low-pressure multiwire proportional chambers, among others. Methods for the development of chitin/chitosan-based systems and their novel modifications are also being advanced.

Collaborations

  • High-energy experimental physics, collaboration within CERN experiments ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, COMPASS++, AMBER
  • Investigation of hadron structure and electromagnetic interaction properties using electron and photon beams, in collaboration with Jefferson Lab (Halls A, B, C, D)
  • Hadronic physics based on data analysis from the HERMES and H1 experiments, in collaboration with DESY
  • Very-high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics, in collaboration within the H.E.S.S. and CTA experiments
  • Nuclear breakup and fragmentation with real photon beams, in collaboration with ELI-NP and HIγS experiments
  • Measurement of the Sivers function describing sea quark distributions in Drell–Yan processes, in collaboration with Fermilab SpinQuest experiment
  • Investigation of gluon distributions in collisions of polarized electrons and nuclei at the Electron-Ion Collider, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA
  • Measurements of asymmetries in dilepton production processes in collisions of unpolarized, longitudinally and transversely polarized proton and deuteron beams within the SPD experiment at the NICA collider, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia
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