80327 - Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics

Learning outcomes

The student acquires and consolidates the basic concepts on nuclear physics and aprticle physics with applications and exercises.

Course contents

Nuclear physics

Units of measurement in nuclear and subnuclear physics. The study of microscopic systems, the cross section. The properties of microscopic particles. Kirchhoff's theory of diffraction. The calculation of the cross sections, differential diffusion section, absorption section, optical theorem, diffraction of an absorbing circular disk.

The nucleus and its constituents. The nuclear radius, differential cross section of neutrons on nuclei.

Nuclear binding energy, the concept of binding energy, experimental data. The drop model of the nucleus, terms of volume, surface, Coulomb, asymmetry and pairing, Weizsacker formula.

Review of quantum mechanics, wave function, energy and momentum, orbital and spin angular momentum, sum of angular moments. Identical particles, symmetry and antisymmetry of the wave function, spin-statistics theorem.

The nucleus as a gas of fermions, counting the quantum mechanical states of a microscopic particle in a volume, the expression of the nuclear binding energy.

The shell model of the nucleus, the nuclear potential, separation energies, the Saxon-Wood potential, spin-orbit interaction in electromagnetism, spin-orbit interaction in the strong interaction between nucleons, comparison with experimental data.


Elementary particle physics

A look at the standard model, the concept of particle, antiparticle and flavor quantum numbers, lepton quarks and hadrons, weak and strong electromagnetic interactions, the parameters of the standard model.

General aspects of the Standard Model. The estimate of the relative intensity of interactions, the emergence of the concept of quantized field: the Klein-Gordon equation. The description of natural interactions. Real and virtual quanta, QED processes, experimental tests, a hint to gauge theories.

Strong interactions. The negative omega baryon, color and gluon charges, flavor structure of strong interactions, isospin, asymptotic freedom and confinement. Flavor quantum numbers. The quark model of hadrons, structure of hadrons, spin masses and electric charges, mesons, baryons and antibaryons. The quark model of mesons, mesons with light quarks, excited meson states, decay schemes and the OZI rule. The quark model of baryons.

The weak interaction. The beta decay, the neutrino, the analogy with electrodimamics, the antineutrino and the W field, diffusion and capture processes, universality of the weak interaction. Symmetry concept in physics. The violation of parity in weak interactions. Elements of the electroweak theory, meaning of parity violation, isospin and weak hypercharge, a mention of the Higgs mechanism. A hint of the mixing of flavor.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes made available on the platform virtuale.

Introductory Nuclear Physics, K. Krane, Ed. John Wiley and Sons.

Introduction to elementary particle physics, A. Bettini, Ed. Cambridge University Press.

Particelle e Interazioni Fondamentali, S. Braibant, G. Giacomelli, M. Spurio, Ed. Springer.

Teaching methods

Lectures on the blackboard and exercises.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of a final two hours written test and of a further oral exam.

The written test consists of fifteen closed-ended questions for the most part consisting of numerical exercises in the classroom on an online platform. In order to be admitted to the oral examination a score greater or equal to 18/30 must be achieved.

The oral examination aims to verify the student's basic knowledge and the understanding of the several theoretical aspects of the discipline acquired during the course.

Teaching tools

Tutor assistance.

Office hours

See the website of Nicola Semprini Cesari

See the website of Ilaria Brivio