Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR PHYSICS SH2302

8 ECTS credits

Lecturer and course coordinator:

Prof. Bo Cederwall
Department of Physics,
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Roslagstullsbacken 21,
S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
(AlbaNova University Centre for Physics, Astronomy and Biotechnology)

The course covers selected topics in basic and applied nuclear physics, such as:

• Basic nuclear properties
• Nucleon structure, the quark model (in brief)
• Nuclear forces, effective nucleon-nucleon interaction, two-nucleon systems
• Nuclear decay modes and the corresponding (dominant) interactions:

         — the strong interaction - alpha-decay,

         — the weak interaction - beta-decay

         — the electromagnetic interaction - gamma-decay

• Nuclear reactions, basic scattering theory
• Deformed nuclei and collective motion - rotations - vibrations
• “Microscopic” models of nuclear structure; nuclear shell model, mean field models, ab initio models
• Nuclei under extreme conditions of temperature (quark-gluon plasma), deformation and angular momentum
• Fission and fusion - nuclear energy production
• Applications of nuclear physics in industry and medicine
• Outlook: The research frontier

Laboratory exercises

• Radiation protection information (To be studied carefully before the first laboration!)
• Alpha decay and spontaneous fission.
• Internal conversion.
• Mössbauer effect. Measuring the natural linewidth of an excited nuclear state.
• Gamma-gamma coincidence measurement.
• Construction of a nuclear level scheme based on the laboration Gamma-gamma coincidence measurement.

Prior knowledge from first-level courses in Modern Physics is assumed.

SUGGESTED COURSE LITERATURE:
K. Krane, Introductory Nuclear Physics, J. Wiley & Sons, 1988
N.A. Jelley, Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics, Oxford University Press, 1990
S.S.M. Wong, Introductory Nuclear Physics, 2nd Ed., J. Wiley& Sons, 1998
C.A. Bertulani, Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press, 2007

OTHER COURSE MATERIALS:
Lecture notes
Lab instructions

EXAMINATION will be in the form of a written examination and written reports from the laboratory work.

Please see the course course homepage for detailed course information.

A video presentation (designed for students in the Nuclear Energy Engineering Master's program) can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhBHp0wqnGM

CONTACTS:
Course coordinator and lecturer:
Bo Cederwall (phone 08-55378203)

Nuclear Physics / KTH
Last updated 2015-10-05 / BC