As a reading assignment, chapters 1-4 of Alex Brown's text are rather useful.
You can fetch Suhonen's book online using your MSU library access.
You can find these texts at the webpage of the course as well.
The course link contains
all material from the lectures in various formats (html, ipython notebooks and PDF).
The various observables we will discuss in the course are thought to be understood via the following five
major topics
- Single particle properties and mean-field models, lecture notes, JS chapters 3-5 and AB chapters 7-10 and 14
- Nuclear forces, covered by lecture notes
- The nuclear shell-model, lecture notes, JS chapter 8 and AB chapters 11-22.
- Particle-hole excitations, random-phase approximation and pairing (and perhaps something on collective models), lecture notes and JS chapters 9 and 11.
- Decays and one and two-body transition probabilities, lecture notes, JS chapters 6 and 7, AB chapters 23-29.
To understand how these topics are linked will provide us with fundamental insights about the laws of motion that govern nuclear physics.
Projects, weekly exercises, deadlines and final oral exam.
- Two projects with a possible numerical content that count 25% each of the final mark, weekly exercises that count 20% and a final oral exam which counts 30% of the final grade.
- Project 1 will be available in week 6 (begins with February 8) and to be handed in before spring break (March 4)
- Project 2 will be available in week 13 (begins with March 28) with deadline April 18.
- For the final oral exam you have to prepare a 25-30 minutes talk based on either a topic chosen by you or a topic defined towards the end of the semester.
Duration of the examination is 45 minutes.
Write a small summary of what you do.
You can send the answer as an email to hjensen@msu.edu
- What is your background in nuclear physics, courses taken or attending this semester?
- If you have defined a thesis topic, please send me some details of your thesis project, your interests etc.
- What is your background in computing? And, if you have programmed, which programming language(s) and environments are you most familiar with?
- Also, if you have specific wishes with respect to this course, expectations, topics you'd like me to cover or other things, please feel free to write them down, or swing by my office for a chat.
One of my aims is to be able to tailor this course as close as possible to your specific scientific interests (as far as possible obviously).
Masses and binding energies.
The data on binding energies can be found in the file bedata.dat at the github address of the course
- Write a small program which reads in the proton and neutron numbers and the binding energies
and make a plot of all neutron separation energies for the chain of oxygen (O), calcium (Ca), nickel (Ni), tin (Sn) and lead (Pb) isotopes, that is you need to plot
$$
S_n= BE(N,Z)-BE(N-1,Z).
$$
Comment your results.
Masses and binding energies.
The data on binding energies can be found in the file bedata.dat at the github address of the course
- Include in the same figure(s) the liquid drop model results of Eq. (2.17) of Alex Brown's text, namely
$$
BE(N,Z)= \alpha_1A-\alpha_2A^{2/3}-\alpha_3\frac{Z^2}{A^{1/3}}-\alpha_4\frac{(N-Z)^2}{A},
$$
with \( \alpha_1=15.49 \) MeV, \( \alpha_2=17.23 \) MeV, \( \alpha_3=0.697 \) MeV and \( \alpha_4=22.6 \) MeV. Comment your results
Masses and binding energies.
- Make a plot of the binding energies as function of the number of nucleons \( A \) using the data in the file on bindingenergies and the above liquid drop model. Make a figure similar to figure 2.5 of Alex Brown where you set the various parameters \( \alpha_i=0 \). Comment your results.
- Use the liquid drop model to find the neutron drip lines for Z values up to 120.
- Analyze then the fluorine isotopes and find, where available the corresponding experimental data, and compare the liquid drop model predicition with experiment. Comment your results.
A program example in C++ and the input data file
bedata.dat can be found found at the github repository for the
course
Deadline for this exercise is January 22, 5pm. You can hand in electronically by just sending me your github link, or just the file. I digest most formats, from scans to ipython notebooks. The choice is yours.