3.5 ECTS Credits — Semester 1 — part of a Major
Nuclear physics is a branch of physics that focuses on the study of atomic nuclei, their constituents, interactions, and properties. It investigates the structure and behavior of atomic nuclei, which are composed of protons and neutrons, and explores the forces that bind these particles together within the nucleus.
Key areas of research in nuclear physics include nuclear reactions, nuclear decay, nuclear fusion, and nuclear fission. Nuclear physicists study the fundamental forces, such as the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force, that govern interactions within atomic nuclei.
Nuclear physics has important applications in various fields including energy production (such as nuclear power), medicine (such as medical imaging and radiation therapy), and astrophysics (such as understanding stellar processes and the origin of elements).
Syllabus
After this course, students will have acquired the basics of a modern view on:
- Many-body systems
- Nuclear and fundamental interactions
- Structure of the nucleus through the Schrödinger equation
- How to reach a universal description of the amazing richness of nuclear states
- 15 radioactivities
- How to probe nuclei in accelerators and exotic beams facilities
- Fission, fusion and their applications
- Astronuclei : nucleosynthesis, neutron stars, cosmic rays
Suggested bibliography
- Bertulani, C. A., Nuclear physics in a nutshell, PUP
- Krane, K. S., Introductory nuclear physics, Wiley
- Clayton, D. D., Principles of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis, McGraw-Hill
- L’Annunziata, M. F., Radioactivity: introduction and history, from the quantum to quarks, Elsevier
- Murray, R. L., Nuclear energy : an introduction to the concepts, systems, and applications of nuclear processes, Elsevier
Prerequisites
- classical mechanics (desirable: Lagrangian formulation)
- basics in statistical physics
- quantum mechanics
- special relativity
- classical field theory: Maxwell equations (and beyond)