Nearly two decades ago, Weinberg proposed using effective field theory for the study of nuclei; his formulation, however, has proved to be problematic. A promising alternative approach has been developed which exploits the fact that the two-nucleon system at low energy is very nearly a conformal system, due to the large nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths. Such a system enjoys universal properties which can be studied experimentally on much longer length scales with trapped atoms, or numerically on a spacetime lattice. I describe some of these developments and outline the challenges that remain.

ANL Physics Division Colloquium Schedule