Elena Litvinova

Elena Litvinova is a Professor of Theoretical Nuclear Physics at Western Michigan University (WMU) and an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University (MSU). Her research focuses on relativistic nuclear many-body theory, quantum field theory, and nuclear astrophysics. She holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear and Particle Physics from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia). Her teaching interests include nuclear physics and quantum mechanics.

• Education: Ph.D., Nuclear and Particle Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia (2003)
• Professional Roles: WMU Nuclear Theory Group leader, former research associate at GSI Helmholtzzentrum (Germany), and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at TU Munich (2005–2007).

Research Interests: Relativistic nuclear many-body problem, electromagnetic response of nuclei (e.g., giant resonances), beta-decay studies, superfluid nuclear systems, and applications to astrophysical scenarios like neutron star mergers and supernovae. Her work emphasizes computational methods like relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation (RQRPA) and quantum computing for nuclear structure problems.

Key Projects: PANDORA project (studying photo-nuclear reactions in light nuclei) and contributions to understanding nuclear response at finite temperatures. Recent studies include low-lying electric dipole strength distributions in Sn isotopes and quantum algorithms for many-body systems.

Labs/Teams: Leads the WMU Nuclear Theory Group, collaborates with international teams including NSCL (National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory) and iThemba LABS (South Africa).