PH31010 - NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS

Module Identifier	PH31010
Module Title	NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Professor Geraint Vaughan
Semester	Semester 2
Other staff	Dr D Falla
Pre-Requisite	PH22010 , PH23010 , PH24010 , PH26010 , PH14020
Course delivery	Lecture	20 lectures
	Seminars / Tutorials	4 seminars/workshops/exercise classes
Assessment	Course work	2 example sheets Coursework Deadlines (by week of Semester): Example Sheet 1 week 5 Example Sheet 2 Week 10	20%
	Exam	2 Hours end of semester examination for BSc students. 3 hours for MPhys students	80%
	Exam	3 Hours end of semester examination for MPhys students	80%

Module description

Nuclear particles are discussed and the stability of nuclei related to radio-active decay processes. Scattering of particles by nuclei is treated in relation to models for nuclear interaction processes and for nuclear matter. The structural properties of nuclei are related to the nuclear shell model. Nuclear fission and fusion, and the generation of nuclear energy, are described. The different species of hadrons (strongly-interacting particles), with their main properties, are introduced, with relation to the quark model. The leptons (weakly-interacting particles, including neutrinos) are related to the heavy bosons, and the fundamental forces of nature explained using Feynman diagrams. Particle detection devices and (cyclic) particle accelerators are introduced, and recent experiments to investigate the structure of the proton and to discover the top quark are described.

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students should be able to:

understand the structure of nuclei
appreciate why some nuclei are stable and others decay
understand at a qualitative level the salient properties of elementary particles
distinguish between real and virtual particles
appreciate the experimental evidence underlying the model of quarks and leptons

Outline syllabus

The nucleus as a physical system; the nuclear energy well.
Nuclear Coulomb repulsion energy
Beta decay process as example of weak interaction.
Mirror nuclei and charge symmetry of nuclear forces
Stability of nuclei and radioactive decay.
Nuclear scattering experiments.
Nuclear reactions.
The 'Fermi Gas' and 'Liquid Drop' Models of nuclear matter.
Structural properties of nuclei.
The Shell Model of the nucleus.
Symmetry, statistics and parity.
Nuclear energy: nuclear fission and the fission reactor; thermonuclear fusion.

Particle classification: leptons, hadrons, baryons, mesons
Families of hadrons: the quark model
Feynman diagrams, virtual particles
Electromagnetic, weak and strong forces
Accelerators: introduction to experimental particle physics
Interaction of particles with matter: cross-section
Particle detectors
Deep inelastic scattering
Discovery of top quark.

Reading Lists

Books
W.S.C. Williams. Nuclear and Particle Physics. Oxford Science Publications ISBN 0-19-852046-8
B.R. Martin and G. Shaw. Particle Physics. 2nd. Wiley ISBN 0-471-97252-5