Ralph Amado

One of the fundamental questions of nuclear theory is how the modern picture of the strong interactions based on quantum chromodynamics (QCD) accounts for nuclear physics both in nuclei and in reactions such as nucleon antinucleon annihilation. We are studying this problem by focusing on classical theories that reflect the structure of non-perturbative QCD and in which the nucleons appear as soliton-like solutions. We then reintroduce the leading quantum corrections. This approach has led to a correct accounting of the principal features of the nucleon-nucleon interaction, including the mid-range attraction. It also gives a remarkable, integrated and simple account of the features of nucleon antinucleon annihilation, particularly the branching ratios. We are applying similar ideas to energetic heavy ion collisions where the final pion fields may be approximated classically.

I am also interested in general scattering theory and in algebraic approaches to dynamical problems.