Dr. Arianna Carbone
Questionnaire to the Research Fellow
My field of research is fascinating. To laymen I would explain it in the following comprehensible manner:
The investigation of strongly interacting systems ranges from matter inside atomic nuclei to matter under extreme conditions in astrophysics. These systems require control of nuclear forces and systematic many-body methods to solve the strongly interaction problem. Understanding the behavior of infinite nuclear matter, which is the focus of my work, provides a path to predict the properties of neutron stars and gives insights to astrophysical phenomena.
My most important success in research to date is…
The extension of the ab initio self-consistent Green’s Function approach to include two- and three-nucleon interactions. Three-nucleon forces have to be considered when studying nuclear systems, because their impact is necessary to reproduce properties of nuclei and to correctly obtain the neutron drip line. Moreover, they are needed to predict the empirical saturation properties of infinite nuclear matter. The self-consistent Green’s Function approach paves the way for an improved ab initio analysis of nuclear matter, thereby providing the basis for the equation of state of neutron stars and supernova explosions.
I’ve chosen the TU Darmstadt because of…
its excellence in theoretical nuclear physics. The group of Prof. Achim Schwenk stands out for its diversity in research and its expertise. This is possible thanks to the combination of a distinct group leader and the tight collaboration of its members.
If I were a student today, I would…
repeat exactly what I did to get to the point where I am now. But I would spend more time reading technical books, because a strong theoretical basis is the secret to scientific competence.
The perfect balance to a stressful working day is…
sport, self-examination and deep thought.
With the help of my host in Darmstadt I would like to…
improve the study of neutron-rich systems. This will lead to characterizing the behavior of nuclei far from stability as well as provide the microphysics needed for neutron-star mergers and supernova explosions.
Questionnaire for the host
Guest of: Prof. Dr. Achim Schwenk
Department: Department of Physics, Institut für Kernphysik
You appreciate in your guest / your guest favourably impressed you by…
her careful calculations of nuclear matter using sophisticated Green’s function methods and her expertise in nuclear forces and many-body theory. Dr. Carbone also impresses me by how quickly she learned German, although our physics discussions in the group are in English.
You, your team and the TU Darmstadt benefit from your guest’s…
expertise in nonperturbative many-body methods at finite temperature. This will enable us to develop the dense matter equation of state at finite temperature based on chiral effective field theory interactions. We will test these interactions in calculations of neutron-rich nuclei and, in collaboration with astrophysicists, apply the developed nuclear equation of state at finite temperature to neutron star merger simulations and to problems in supernova explosions.
