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The Quark Nuclear Science Institute (QNSI) is a new research and education organization established within the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo in July 2024. Modern nuclear physics can be described as the study of the properties of quantum many-body systems at the femtometer scale—one trillionth of a millimeter—and below.

We aim to pursue a systematic research program encompassing nuclei as many-body systems of nucleons, such as protons and neutrons; many-body systems of quarks, the fundamental constituents of matter; and high-energy quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which probes the properties of quarks, antiquarks, and the gluons that bind them, hidden within the vacuum inside nucleons.

Exploring the many mysteries of this microscopic world requires particle accelerators suited to each research objective. We conduct international collaborative experiments at cutting-edge accelerator facilities, including the RI Beam Factory at RIKEN and the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) in Japan, as well as Jefferson Lab (JLab) and the planned Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States. By combining the results of these experiments with theoretical research using large-scale computing facilities, quantum computers, and other advanced computational tools, we seek to unravel the mysteries of quantum many-body systems at the femtometer scale.

Although QNSI is still a small institute at the beginning of its journey, we aspire to build a network of research institutions in Japan and around the world and to nurture the next generation of researchers with an international outlook.

Satoshi N. Nakamura, Director of Quark Nuclear Science Institute, The University of Tokyo