Programme

First module:
The proton, cathode rays, the electron, mass and electric charge.
Black body radiation, Planck constant, photoelectric effect, X rays, Compton effect, the photon. Bohr atomic model, atomic spectra, electron magnetic moment and spin.
Special relativity, Lorentz transforms, four-vectors and relativistic invariants, energy and momentum, relativistic kinematics.
Cross section, absorption coefficient. Coulomb scattering, Rutherford cross section. Scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a charge, Thomson cross section.
Quantum mechanics and perturbation theory, transition probability, phase space. Decay low, electromagnetic interaction, emission and absorption,
electric and magnetic dipole radiation, selection rules. Rutherford scattering, electric form factor, scattering of a charge by a magnetic
moment, electric and magnetic form factor of proton and neutron. Potential scattering, partial waves, scattering and
absorption cross section.

Second module:
Properties of nuclei, atomic and mass number, stability band, measurement of charge, mass and nuclear radius. Statistics, spin and parity of nuclei, the neutron. Electromagnetic energy of nuclei, magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments.
Fermi gas model, kinetic energy of nucleons. Liquid drop model, Bethe-Weizsaeker mass formula, mirror nuclei. Magic numbers, shell model, spin-orbit interaction, energy levels and spin-parity states. The neutron-proton system, the deuteron.
Nuclear decays, activity. Phenomenology of gamma decay, multipole radiation, Weisskopf coefficients. Phenomenology of alpha decay, kinematics, stability curve, potential barrier and Gamow factor, lifetime. Phenomenology of beta decay, the neutrino hypothe
sis, Fermi theory, Kurie plot, lifetime, Fermi and Gamow-Teller transitions. Weak interaction and Fermi constant.
Discovery of the neutrino.

Third module:
Nuclear reactions, Fission, energy balance of the Uranium fission, neutron-induced fission,
nuclear reactor.
Fusion, cycles of the Sun, energy balance, nucleo-synthesis, fusion in the laboratory.
Nuclear forces, Yukawa model. Cosmic rays, primary and secondary components, the positron.
Discovery and properties of elementary particles, meson and baryons, anti-particles. Elementary particle interactions: nuclear, electromagnetic, weak. The quark model, discovery of quarks.

Core Documentation

• W. E. Burcham and M. Jobes, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Pearson Education, 1994.
• Notes from the former course of Istituzioni di Fisica Nucleare e Subnucleare from Prof. Ceradini will be made available on the web page

Please register to the following web pages
moodle https://matematicafisica.el.uniroma3.it/course/view.php?id=51
sharepoint https://uniroma3.sharepoint.com/sites/ElementidiFisicaNucleareeSubnucleareAA201920
teams https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a57c8fc1e646a489894614511aea22a8c%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=b5330848-367f-43b5-ae3c-b75bc4257d05&tenantId=ffb4df68-f464-458c-a546-00fb3af66f6a

Reference Bibliography

• B.Povh, K.Rith, G.Sholtz, F.Zetsche: Particles and Nuclei, Springer, 2009. • A.Das and T.Ferbel, Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics, 2nd Edition, World Scientific, 2003.

Type of delivery of the course

Frontal lessons on the blackboard, with occasional use of slides only to illustrate experimental distributions or particularly complex apparatuses, interspersed by at least one session of classroom exercises every week, to consolidate the theoretical notions and prepare the written tests.

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory but strongly recommended especially to the classroom exercises

Type of evaluation

The final exam consists in a written test with three exercises and an oral discussion. Intermediate tests are foreseen both for self-evaluation and, when successful, to exempt the student from the corresponding part of the final exam. Examples of written tests from the previous years will be made available on the web page of the course.

Programme

The proton, cathode rays, the electron, mass and electric charge. Black body radiation, Planck
constant, photoelectric effect, X rays, Compton effect, the photon. Bohr atomic model, atomic
spectra, electron magnetic moment and spin.
Special relativity, Lorentz transforms, four-vectors and relativistic invariants, energy and
momentum, relativistic kinematics.
Cross section, absorption coefficient. Coulomb scattering, Rutherford cross section. Scattering of
electromagnetic radiation by a charge, Thomson cross section.
Quantum mechanics and perturbation theory, transition probability, phase space. Decay low,
electromagnetic interaction, emission and absorption, electric and magnetic dipole radiation,
selection rules. Rutherford scattering, electric form factor, scattering of a charge by a magnetic
moment, electric and magnetic form factor of proton and neutron. Potential scattering, partial
waves, scattering and absorption cross section.
Properties of nuclei, atomic and mass number, stability band, measurement of charge, mass and
nuclear radius. Statistics, spin and parity of nuclei, the neutron. Electromagnetic energy of nuclei,
magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments.
Fermi gas model, kinetic energy of nucleons. Liquid drop model, Bethe-Weizsaeker mass
formula, mirror nuclei. Magic numbers, shell model, spin-orbit interaction, energy levels and
spin-parity states. The neutron-proton system, the deuteron.
Nuclear decays, activity. Phenomenology of gamma decay, multipole radiation, Weisskopf
coefficients. Phenomenology of alpha decay, kinematics, stability curve, potential barrier and
Gamow factor, lifetime. Phenomenology of beta decay, the neutrino hypothesis, Fermi theory,
Kurie plot, lifetime, Fermi and Gamow-Teller transitions. Weak interaction and Fermi constant.
Discovery of the neutrino.
Nuclear reactions, Fission, energy balance of the Uranium fission, neutron-induced fission,
nuclear reactor. Fusion, cycles of the Sun, energy balance, nucleo-synthesis, fusion in the
laboratory.
Nuclear forces, Yukawa model. Cosmic rays, primary and secondary components, the positron.
Discovery and properties of elementary particles, meson and baryons, anti-particles. Elementary
particle interactions: nuclear, electromagnetic, weak. The quark model, discovery of quarks.

Core Documentation

• W. E. Burcham and M. Jobes, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Pearson Education.
• A.Das and T.Ferbel, Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics, 2nd Edition, World
Scientific, 2003.
• B.Povh, K.Rith, G.Sholtz, F.Zetsche: Particelle e nuclei, Bollati Boringhieri, 1998.
• Appunti del corso di Istituzioni di Fisica Nucleare e Subnucleare,
http://webusers.fis.uniroma3.it/~ceradini/efns.html

Type of delivery of the course

Frontal lessons on the blackboard, with occasional use of slides only to illustrate experimental distributions or particularly complex apparatuses, interspersed by at least one session of classroom exercises every week, to consolidate the theoretical notions and prepare the written tests.

Type of evaluation

The final exam consists in a written test with three exercises and an oral discussion. Intermediate tests are foreseen both for self-evaluation and, when successful, to exempt the student from the corresponding part of the final exam. Examples of written tests from the previous years will be made available on the web page of the course.