Historical perspective and future prospects for nuclear interactions

TL;DR

This paper reviews the history, current state, and future prospects of nuclear interactions, emphasizing the role of effective field theory in understanding nuclear forces over eight decades.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of nuclear force research and discusses future directions, especially the application of effective field theory.

Findings

Effective field theory is now central to deriving nuclear forces.

Decades of research have advanced understanding but challenges remain.

Future developments may lead to a more complete theory of nuclear interactions.

Abstract

The nuclear force is the heart of nuclear physics and, thus, the significance of this force for all of nuclear physics can hardly be overstated. Research on this crucial force has by now spanned eight decades and we are still not done. I will first review the rich history of hope and desperation, which had spin-off far beyond just nuclear physics. Next, I will present the current status in the field which is charcterized by the application of an effective field theory (EFT) that is believed to represent QCD in the low energy regime typical for nuclear physics. During the past two decades, this EFT has become the favorite vehicle to derive nuclear two- and many-body forces. Finally, I will take a look into the future: What developments can we expect from the next decades? Will the 30-year cycles of new and "better" ideas for efficiently describing nuclear forces go on for ever, or is there hope for closure?