Master/Bachelor degree research projects
I warmly welcome KTH master students as well as exchange students to work with us on different subjects of the many-body theory. For details, please see
http://www.nuclear.kth.se/diploma-work/theoretical-nuclear-physics/
KTH Bachelar's project
R-process simulation and heavy-Element Nucleosynthesis
Contact person: Chong Qi,
The so-called rapid neutron capture process (or the r-process) in nuclear astrophysics is believed to be the mechanism for the nucleosynthesis of many stable heavy and superheavy nuclei heavier than Iron. This process is not fully understood from a theoretical point of view and the observed abundance of r-process elements still cannot be properly reproduced. In this project a systematic calculation will be done to simulate the abundance of heavy nuclei under different conditions based on theoretical estimations of nuclear masses and decay half-lives. In particular, we would like to explore the influence of the uncertainties in nuclear masses in our abundance predictions.
The r process code ‘r-Java’, which is rather easy to use and has a graphical user interface, will be used for the simulation. The project will thus not involve heavy programming. It is hoped that, after the project, the student will have an overall understanding of the structures and decays of atomic nuclei as well as the various nuclear astrophysical processes and be able to perform basic calculations.
Projects for the Modern physics course
https://www.kth.se/social/course/SH1012/page/prejektlista/
Theoretical nuclear physics project: Validity of the Geiger-Nuttall law
It was a century ago that the Geiger-Nuttall law, which was to revolutionize physics by its implications, was formulated based on nuclear alpha-decay systematics. Indeed, its explanation by Gamow required acceptance of the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. The extent to which this was revolutionary can perhaps best be gauged by noticing the multitude of models that have been put forward by outstanding physicists as an alternative to the probabilistic interpretation. This debate rages even at present.
In this project we propose to explore the origin and physical meaning of the Geiger-Nuttall law starting from the microscopic expression for the alpha decay half-life. We will test the validity of the Geiger-Nuttall law by apply it to the state of the art alpha decay results. We will also try to extend the Geiger-Nuttall Law to describe other decay processes. Contact: Chong Qi () and Sara Changizi <asiyeh@kth.se>
Theoretical nuclear physics project: Nuclear charge radius and the property of the Hoyle state
3 studenter: (namn här)
The charge radius is a measure of the size of an atomic nucleus. It also provides a particularly useful characterization of the proton distribution that can be accessed by a variety of experiments. In this project we will propose a nuclear model to evaluate the charge radius. We will apply the model to explore the properties of “bubble” nuclei and the Hoyle state in the nucleus 12C.
Because of the saturation properties of the nuclear medium, the radial dependence of the nuclear density takes, at the lowest order, the form of a Fermi distribution. However, the density often deviates from this simple behavior because of quantal effects. We will try to explore the possibility of forming central bump and central depression of density. The latter is particularly interesting since it indicates the existence of the so-called bubble nucleus.
Moreover, several nuclear models suggest that the radius of the Hoyle state in the nucleus 12C is much larger than that of the ground state. In this project we will try to evaluate the radius of this state and explore the possible ways to test our prediction. Contact: Chong Qi () and Sara Changizi <asiyeh@kth.se>
