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Hen Lab - Laboratory for Nuclear Science @ MIT
Welcome to the Hen-Lab website; Here you can get to know the group, read about our research, and find our latest publications. We are (primarily) a scattering group that uses high-energy electron, neutrino, proton and ion scattering to study effects of QCD in the nuclear medium, the interplay between partonic and nucleonic degrees of freedom in nuclei (e.g. the EMC effect), neutrino-nucleus interactions and more. If you find our work interesting, and have space for more stamps on your passport, feel free to contact us and learn about how you can get involved!
Recent News
"Hen’s hunt for neutrinos" - check out this great new article by MIT's Tech featuring our electrons-4-neutrinos work
Bringing Tritium back! Jefferson Lab PAC approved our new Tritium@CLAS12 proposals for precision studies of few-body nuclear dynamics
Adi Ashkenazi named 2020 Tollestrup Award recepient. “for substantial improvements to the modeling of neutrino interactions using electron scattering data and widespread contributions to data acquisition, background modeling and systematics on MicroBooNE”
Happy to welcome post-baccalaureate researchers Natalie Wright and Alex Kiral to the gruop!
Congratulations to Adi for delivering a great Neutrino2020 plenary talk on our e4nu effort to >1000 physicists!
New paper on SRC contribution to the EMC Effect in Deuterium and Helium-3 available on the arXiv
Wishing luck to (now former) group postdoc Dr. Holly Szumila-Vance as she starts a perminent-track staff scientist position at Jefferson Lab!
Congratulations to group postdoc Dr. Dien Thi Nguyen for recieving the prestigious JAS Nathan Isgur fellowship!
"Physicists Study Mirror Nuclei For Precision Theory Test" - JLab Press release on our Tritium paper
Congratulations to group graduate student Jackson Pybus for recieving the EIC graduate fellowship!
New paper on measurements of neutrino-argon CCQE scattering differential cross-sections available on the arXiv [Now accepted for publicaion in PRL]
New paper on probing SRCs in the Deuteron via J/Psi production at an EIC available on the arXiv [Now accepted for publication in PLB]
Congratulations to Dr. Reynier Cruz Torres for recieving the Sergio Vazquez Prize for his graduate work in our group!
New paper on GCF analysis of high-x inclusive electron scattering data available on the arXiv
New paper on the our laser callibration system for large time-of-flight detector arrays available on the arXiv [now published in NIM-A]
New paper on the CLAS12 BAND detector (laed by our group) available on the arXiv
New paper on mapping a Tensor-to-Scalar NN interaction Transition at short-distances available on the arXiv
Congratulations to Dr. (!!) Reynier Cruz Torres for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis on "Two-Nucleon Short-Range Correlations in Light Nuclei". Wishing him luck in his next position as postdoc at Berkeley!
New paper on GCF analysis of 4He(e,e′pN) data available on the arXiv [now published in Physics Letters B]
Or awarded the 2020 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship
New paper on probing few-body nuclear dynamics in measurements of A=3 mirror nuclei available on the arXiv. [Now published as an Editor's suggestion in PRL]
New paper on the core of the strong nuclear interaction accepted for publication in Nature [Now published]
Happy to welcome our four new postdocs: Dr. Holly Szumila-Vance, Dr. Tyler Kutz, Dr. Julian Kahlbow, and Dr. Florian Hauenstein!
"There's a Giant Mystery Hiding Inside Every Atom in the Universe" - new article on our EMC work published in Fox News
Wishing luck to (now former) group postdoc Prof. Axel Schmidt as he starts his faculty appointment at George Washington University!
Or wins the 2018 G. Altarelli Award: “for his role in uncovering a striking relation of the nuclear EMC effect and the strength of nucleon-nucleon correlations, with implications for the constraint of the down and up quark distribution ratio at large x”
Or elected to join the Executive Committee of the APS New England Section (NES)
Florian Hauenstein recived the 2019 JSA Promising Young Scientist Award!
Jefferson Lab PAC approved our new GlueX proposals for SRC studies using high-energy exclusive photo production reactions. We are now formally running in all 4 JLab halls!
Or awarded the 2019 DOE Early Career Award for SRC studies using exclusive nucleon-knockout reactions at CLAS12
Or wins the APS 2019 Stuart Jay Freedman Award in Experimental Nuclear Physics: "For innovative, wide-ranging experiments that found important manifestations of nuclear neutron-proton short-range correlations."
Afroditi Papadopoulou awarded the 2019 URA Graduate Fellowship!
Or wins the 2019 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Nuclear Physics: “For extending our knowledge and understanding of short range correlations in nuclei, and for the discovery of a remarkable linear relationship between high-momentum correlations and the deviation of the quark momentum in a heavy nucleus.”
Happy to welcome new postdoc Dr. Dien Nguyen to the group
Group host the "2nd Workshop on Quantitative Challenges in SRC and EMC Research" @ MIT. Worshop included 50 paticipants who gave excellent talks and lead discussions about exciting recent advances!
Check out the press coverage of our new Nature paper on the EMC Effect
New paper on comparing proton momentum distributions in A=3 via 3H and 3He (e,e'p) measurements available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters]
New paper on the isospin asymmetry dependence of spectroscopic factors and SRCs available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters B]
New paper on Scale and Scheme Independence and Position-Momentum Equivalence of SRC available on the arXiv
New paper on constraining the flavor dependence of the nucleon valence structure using nuclear DIS data available on the arXiv [Now published in PRL]
New paper on "Modified Structure of Protons and Neutrons in Correlated Pairs" accepted for publication in Nature [Now published]
New paper on Rejecting cosmic background for exclusive neutrino interaction studies with Liquid Argon TPCs available on the arXiv [Now published in EPJC]
New paper on Measurement of Nuclear Transparency Ratios for Protons and Neutrons available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters]
Congratulations to Dr. (!!) Longwu Ou for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis on "Precision Measurements of Electron-Proton Elastic Cross Sections at Large 𝑄^2"
New paper on the study of np-SRC dominance in heavy nuclei via the A(e,e'Np) reactions available on the arXiv [Now published in PRL]
Adi Ashkenazi named 2018 Intensity Frontier Fellow at Fermilab
Check out the press coverage of our new Nature paper on correlations in neutron-rich nuclei
Congratulations to Dr. (!!) Barak Schmookler for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis on "Nucleon Structure and Its Modification in Nuclei". Wishing him luck in his next position as postdoc at Stony-Brook!
Reynier Cruz Torres wins Gordon Conference poster competition for his works on Tritium scattering and Contact Formalism
MIT led BAND detector sucsesfully installeed at JLab Hall B, towards intergration into CLAS12
Adi Ashkenazi received the 2018 National Postdoctoral Award for Advancing Women in Science (lead by the Weizmann Institute of Science)
Jefferson Lab PAC approved our new CLAS12 proposals for Exclusive SRC studies and Electron-4-Neutrinos with 'A' rating. Co-spockspersons include group postdocs Dr. Adi Ashkenazi and Dr. Axel Schmidt, as well as JLab postoc Dr. Holly Szumila
New paper on the nuclear spectral function in the contact formalism and exclusive scattering reactions available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters]
Anjali Nambrath and Kristen Surrao receive the APS CEU fellowship to present their work on OLIVIA (Kristen) and BAND (Anjali) at the DNP-JPS summer meeting in Hawaii!
Reynier Cruz Torres awarded the 2018 JSA Graduate Fellowship!
Axel Schmidt elected to join the Jefferson-Lab Hall A Coordinating Committee
New paper on measurements of SRCs in neutron-rich nuclei accepted for publication in Nature
Or servs as a scientifc advisor for a new NOVA documentary series on physics of atoms and nuclei
New paper on SRCs and the charge radii of neutron-rich nuclei available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters]
New paper by group postdoc Dr. Axel Schmidt and collaborators on SRCs and the nuclear charge density available on the arXiv [Now published in Physics Letters]
New paper on the extraction of the c.m. motion of SRC pairs in heavy nuclei available on the arXiv [Accepted to PRL]
Or joins the APS Devision of Nuclear Physics (DNP) Program Committee for 2018- 2019
Adi Ashkenazi received the 2017 dissertation prize of the Israeli Physical Society. The award covers all areas of experimental and theoretical physics.
Axel recives the MIT School of Science 'Spot Award'. The award sets to "acknowledge and demonstrate appreciation and recognition for the exceptional contributions of individuals and teams"
Or named 'Bose Fellow'. OLIVIA project awarded the Professor Amar G. Bose Research Grant
New paper on the nuclear correlation function available on the arXiv [Accepted to Physics Letters]
Afroditi Papadopoulou receives the Fermilab URA Fellowship!
Adrian Silva receives the APS CEU fellowship to present his 'Electrons 4 Neutrinos' work at the DNP Fall meeting!
Or wins the 2018 G. Altarelli Award: “for his role in uncovering a striking relation of the nuclear EMC effect and the strength of nucleon-nucleon correlations, with implications for the constraint of the down and up quark distribution ratio at large x”
Adi Ashkenazi receives the Zuckerman STEM Leadership Fellowship
Happy to welcome new postdoc Adi Ashkenazi to the group!
Group host the "Table-Top Experiments with Skyscraper Reach" workshop
New paper on the nuclear symmetry energy available on the arXiv [Published in Chin. Phys. C]
JLab PAC approved our new proposal "The CaFe Experiment: Short-Range Pairing Mechanisms in Heavy Nuclei"
Adrian Silva receives the Paul E. Gray (1954) Endowed Fund for his UROP project with the group!
JINR PAC approved our proposal "Study of Short-Range Correlation in Inverse Kinematics at BM@N"
Reynier Cruz Torres wins HUGS 2017 "Best Speaker Award"
Group members gave a great set of invited talks at the "High-Density Nuclear Matter" workshop @ WI
Or named new JLab Data-Mining collaboration spokesperson
New paper on the nuclear contact formalism available on the arXiv [published in Physics Letters]
New review paper on Short-Range Correlations and the EMC Effect available on the arXiv [Published in Reviews of Modern Physics]
Group host the "Quantitative Challenges in EMC and SRC Studies" workshop
Efrain Segarra receives NSF and Ford Foundation Graduate Fellowships