The Physics & Astronomy Colloquium Series presents Sanjay Reddy from Institute of Nuclear Theory at the Univesity of Washington, discussing "Connecting Quarks to the Cosmos: The Role of Quark Masses" on November 22.

Abstract: Quantum Chromo Dynamic (QCD), an elegant and deceptively simple theory of quarks and gluons with just a few parameters, is expected to give rise to all the complexity of hadrons and their interactions. About 30 years ago, theorists began to address how variations in the quark masses would impact nuclear physics.

In my talk, I highlight recent work inspired by these earlier studies that elucidate the role of the quark mass in low-energy nuclear physics. I will show that understanding the quark mass dependence of the nuclear force has implications for three-nucleon forces in nuclei and neutron stars, the interpretation of pionic atoms, and axion condensation at finite baryon density.