ISTITUZIONI DI FISICA NUCLEARE E SUBNUCLEARE

Learning Objectives

• Introduction to Nuclear Physics

  The student will acquire knowledge of nuclear phenomena, nuclear structure, nuclear interactions, radioactive decays laws and basic concepts related to nuclear collisions. The issues are introduced by describing the phenomenology, the approach used in the measurements and a qualitative and, where possible, quantitative description of the described nuclear phenomena is given. In learning the main theoretical models through which the nuclear structure is studied, the student will also use many concepts acquired in previous courses or which run in parallel with the course in question.

• subnuclear physics

  knowledge of subnuclear physics phenomenology, experiments and fundamental discoveries.

Course Structure

• Introduction to Nuclear Physics

  The Course is structured in about 13 weeks, 4 hours of frontal lectures each week.

  During the lesson period a guided tour is carried out at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud-INFN Catania, during which the activities carried out by researchers in the field of Nuclear Physics are illustrated, also in connection with research in collaboration with Universities and Research Institutes Italian and Foreign.

  Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the Syllabus.

  Learning assessment may also be carried out on line, should the conditions require it.

• subnuclear physics

  six weeks of lessons. four hour per week.

Detailed Course Content

• Introduction to Nuclear Physics

  Atoms and nuclei: Size and shape. Nuclear binding energy. Weisszacher formula. Nuclear instability. Spontaneous fission

  Decays: The radioactive decay law. Half-life. Multimodal decays. The production of radioactive material. Sequential decays. Transition rate. 14C dating method.

  Alpha decay: Coulomb barrier penetration. Gamow factor. Angular momentum barrier. Decay schemes involving alpha-particle emission.

  Nuclear Model: The nuclear binding energy. The liquid drop model. Shell modell. Nuclear energy levels. Wood-Saxon potential. Spin-orbit interaction. Magic numbers. Splitting of energy levels. Bound and virtual levels. Spin and parity.

  Nuclear spin and Moments: Nuclear spin. Magnetic and electric Moments. Bohr magneton. Nuclear magneton. Schmidt lines. Deformed Nuclei. Rotational and vibrational bands. Nilsson levels.

  Beta decay: Energy release in beta decay. Golden Rule n.2. Fermi Theory. Angular momentum and parity selection rules. Fermi (F) and Gamow-Teller allowed transitions. Forbidden decays. Beta spectrum, end-point. Kurie-plot.

  Gamma decay: Energetics of gamma decay. Classical electromagnetic radiation. Transition to quantum mechanics. Angular momentum and parity selection rules. Internal conversion. Weisskopf estimation.

  Nuclear collisions: Conservation laws. Energetics of nuclear reactions. Q-value. Reaction cross sections. Experimental technique. Scattering and resonances reactions.

• subnuclear physics
  • Basic concepts
  • Il concetto di particella e i suoi numeri quantic
    • particles and quantum numbers
    • Fermions and bosons. Particles and antiparticles
    • Yukawa Forces
    • Relativistic Kinematics
    • Natural units

  • Quark model and colors
    • Mesons and barions
    • Barion number, Isospin, Strangenes, Charmnes, Bottomnes, Topnes
    • colors;
    • asintotic freedom and confinement
    • hadron jets
    • vacuum polarization
    • J/Psi discovery
    • Charmonium and bottonium
    • Deep Inelastic Scattering e-e and e-p, Form factors, Structure function

  • weak interactions

  • beta decay
  • pion muon and kaon decay
  • parity violation
  • electroweak unification
  • Gargamelle experiments and neutral currents
  • UA1 e UA2 experiments - W and Z discovery

Textbook Information

• Introduction to Nuclear Physics
  1. H.A.Enge: Introduction to Nuclear Physics (Addison Wesley Pub.Co.)
  2. J.S.Lilley: Nuclear Physics- Principles and Applications (J.Wiley&Sons, Ltd)
  3. B. Povh, K. Rith, C. Scholz, F. Zetsche: Particelle e nuclei. Un' introduzione ai concetti fisici (Bollati Boringhieri)
  4. W .S.C. Williams: Nuclear and Particle Physics, (Claredon Press, Oxford)
• subnuclear physics
  1. Particle Physics, B.R. Martin, G. Shaw, John Wiley and Son
  2. D.H. Perkins, Introduction to High Energy Physics, D.H. Addison-Wesley