Overview of the CSSM

The Centre began official operations on January 1, 1997. The formation of the Centre was the result of a successful national competitive proposal by Professor Anthony W. Thomas and A/Prof. Anthony G. Williams of the then Department of Physics and Mathematical Physics for one of 8 Commonwealth Special Reseach Centres funded in 1997 for 9 years. There is one such competitive round for Special Research Centres across all fields of research every three years. Hence there are of order two dozen such Centres nationally at any one time. The CSSM is now administered through the Physics Discipline of the School of Chemistry & Physics.

The Centre is one specific research based activity of the National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITP). The NITP is a more broadly based networking centre, which serves the interests of the whole of the Australian theoretical and mathematical physics communities by holding and coordinating a number of workshops and conferences in a variety of areas each year.

Strategic Objectives of the Centre

Hadronic matter makes up almost the entire mass of the tangible universe, from the protons and neutrons in nuclei inside atoms and molecules to neutron stars. Unravelling the rich and complex structure of the strongly interacting particles (known generically as hadrons) and their interactions is one of the remaining great challenges in physics.

The marvellous organizing principle for almost all of our understanding of modern physics is referred to as the Standard Model. This brings together in one elegant framework three of the four fundamental interactions in physics: the electromagnetic interaction, the weak interaction (responsible for radioactive decay), and the strong interaction (responsible for hadronic structure and interactions). The strong interaction is widely believed to be described by a theory known as quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

The fundamental constituents of the QCD description of hadronic matter are referred to as quarks (analogs of electrons) and gluons (analogs of photons, but self-interacting). Assuming that QCD is the correct theory for the strong interactions, we will use it to understand the observed structure of hadrons and hadronic matter and to predict important new features. Conversely, when pushed to its limits, QCD may eventually fail to predict the observed hadronic world. This possibility would constitute an extremely interesting outcome and would require major modifications to the Standard Model.

The essential aim of the Centre is to make major advances of international significance in our understanding of the structure of hadronic matter by assembling a world-class research team in Adelaide. With a variety of attacks on the problem being made within the same Centre, progress can be made more rapidly than by a set of isolated individuals or small groups. The cross-fertilisation of this environment offers great opportunities for major breakthroughs in our understanding.

In order to ensure a coherent research program of the highest quality we will continue to attract the very best researchers in the field from around the world for significant periods of time. Through a vigorous program of topical workshops, we involve a significant fraction of the Australian subatomic physics community in the research programs of the Centre. Not only does their involvement strengthen the research programs of the Centre, but also through the close contact with each other, the staff of the Centre and the visiting experts from overseas, their own productivity and enthusiasm are significantly enhanced.

Computing facilities

Check out the CSSM Computing Facilities (under construction)

National Computing Facility for Lattice Gauge Theory

The University of Adelaide and the CSSM are hosts to the National Computing Facility for Lattice Gauge Theory.

Supercomputer Access

Collaborative Agreements

Related Sites with Formal Agreements of Cooperation with the CSSM: