Recently, Dr. Hui Liu, a faculty member of the nuclear physics team at the School of Science, Huzhou Normal University, collaborated with researchers from Huazhong Normal University, Kent State University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of Science and Technology of China, and other institutions on an experimental study of a fundamental question in physics: whether baryon number is carried by quarks or gluons. Using high-energy nuclear collision data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the study provides new experimental evidence for understanding the nonperturbative properties of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the internal structure of hadrons, and baryon-number transport in high-energy nuclear collisions. The study, titled “Tracking the baryon number with nuclear collisions,” was published in Science in August 2026..

　　Working with her doctoral supervisor, Professor Xiaofeng Luo of Huazhong Normal University, Dr. Liu made an important contribution to the reconstruction of the net baryon number. Since neutrons and antineutrons are electrically neutral, they are difficult to detect directly with the STAR central detector. The research team therefore reconstructed their yields based on the measured production of protons, antiprotons, deuterons, and antideuterons. Dr. Liu also completed systematic measurements of protons, deuterons, and other light nuclei produced in 200 GeV ruthenium-96 and zirconium-96 collisions, providing important experimental input for the reconstruction of the net baryon number.

　　Dr. Liu joined Huzhou Normal University in 2025 as a young faculty member and became part of the team at the Strong-Coupling Physics International Research Laboratory. Established in 2017, the laboratory has, with the university’s sustained support, actively attracted outstanding researchers and expanded collaboration with international peers, achieving a series of accomplishments through major national research projects and provincial platforms for international collaboration.