Module Identifier PH32620  
Module Title FROM MOLECULES TO ELEMENTARY PARTICLES  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Dr Tudor E Jenkins  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Other staff Professor Keith Birkinshaw, Dr Xing Li  
Pre-Requisite PH14020 , PH23520 , PH26020  
Co-Requisite None  
Course delivery Lecture   36 Hours x 1 hour lectures  
  Seminars / Tutorials   0 seminars, 4 tutorials  
  Practical   None  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment Course work, 4 example sheets  20%
Semester Assessment Test, end of semester 1  20%
Semester Exam BSc 2 hours , MPhys 3 hours end of module exam  60%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
  1. classify the states of single and multielectron atoms
  2. perform vector addition of angular momentum using LS or jj coupling schemes
  3. predict allowed transitions in atoms from selection rules
  4. calculate electron energy level shifts in a magnetic field
  5. predict the rotational and vibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules
  6. describe the structure of nuclei
  7. explain the stability of nuclei
  8. identify the salient properties of elementary particles
  9. summarise the experimental evidence underlying the Standard Model











Aims

The fundamental structure of matter, from molecules through atoms, nuclei to elementary particles is of fundamental importance to the understanding of nature and its interactions. at this stage in their course, students have a suffiient background knowledge of quantum theory to enable them to study modern theories of the structure of matter in depth.

Brief description

This module will look at the structure of molecules, atoms, nuclei and elementary particles chiefly through the medium of spectroscopy. Theoretical models of these building blocks of matter will be developed and experimental techniques employed to investigate their structure will be discussed.

Content

ATOMS:
Spectroscopy of the hydrogen atom - gross, fine, and hyperfine structure. Orbital and spin angular momentum in hydrogen. Spin-orbit coupling. Many electron atoms - indistinguishability and the Pauli Exclusion Principle. LS and jj-coupling. Hund's rules.
Optical selection rules in atoms. Alkali and rare earth spectra. Helium and configuration interaction. Zeeman effect - space quantisation. Hyperfine structure - nuclear spin. Rydberg states.   

MOLECULES:
Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Rotational, vibrational and electronic spectra of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. Instrumentation.

NUCLEAR:
The nucleus as a physical system; the nuclear energy well. Nuclear Coulomb repulsion energy. Beta decay process as an example of weak interactions. 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 fission and fusion.

ELEMENTARY PARTICLES:
Historical development. The Standard Model, quarks and leptons. From quarks to hadrons. The fundamental forces of nature - electromagnetic, strong force and colour change, weak force and gravity. Probing elementary particles - linear and circular accelerators, particle detectors.

Reading Lists

Books
T.P. Softly Atomic Spectra OUP ISBN 0-19-855688-8
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 Edition. Wiley ISBN 0-471-97252-5
C.N.Banwell and E.M.McCash Fundamentals of Molecular Spectroscopy 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-707976-0

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6