Physics 555
Fundamental Nuclear Physics
Spring 2019
Home Page: http://www.pa.uky.edu/~gardner/p555/
T and Th: 12:30 - 1:45PM, CP 183
Syllabus
Fundamental Nuclear Physics
Spring 2019
Home Page: http://www.pa.uky.edu/~gardner/p555/
T and Th: 12:30 - 1:45PM, CP 183
Syllabus
General Information:
Lecturer: Prof. Susan Gardner
Required textbook:
Recommended textbooks:
Phy 555 is a first course in fundamental nuclear physics. Atomic nuclei
are the core of matter: they provide the great preponderance of mass in the visible
Universe, and are the fuel of stars. Nuclei are self-bound drops of neutrons and
protons, and we discuss their existence from the standpoint of the interactions
of their quarks and gluons. Nuclei can also serve
as a stage for exquisitely sensitive tests of new forces and particles ---
and they can illuminate the properties of the elusive neutrinos.
This course surveys nuclear physics from all these myriad aspects.
A knowledge of quantum mechanics,
at the level of Physics 520, is required.
The course relies largely on the required and recommended
textbooks, though material
from other sources, both textbooks and monographs, will be integrated
into the presentation. Note that the class lectures are the intellectual
property of the professor and can only be recorded for a student's
personal use. Recordings for any business or commerical purpose are
prohibited.
The primary learning outcome is a basic understanding of the principles that
drive our understanding of nuclear physics.
Office: Blazer Dining 351
Phone: 257-4391
E-mail: gardner "@" pa.uky.edu
Office Hours: MW 5-6 PM and by appointment.
B. Povh, K. Rith, C. Scholz, F. Zetsche, and W. Rodejohann
Particles and Nuclei: An Introduction to the Physical Concepts, Seventh Edition (2015).
T. W. Donnelly, J. A. Formaggio, B. R. Holstein, R. G. Milner, and B. Surrow
Foundations of Nuclear and Particle Physics (2017).
S. S. M. Wong, Introductory Nuclear Physics, 2nd Ed. (1998).
Course Description and Prerequisites
Course Topics
(to be adjusted and/or treated as time permits):
| Fermi Problems; Dimensional Analysis [handout] |
|---|
| Fundamental Constituents and Symmetries [Ch. 1, P] |
| Global Properties of Nuclei [Ch. 2, P] |
| Nuclear Stability [Ch. 3, P] |
| Scattering: from Nuclear Shapes to Nucleon Structure [Ch. 4-8, P] |
| Quarks and Gluons [Ch. 8, P; Ch. 21, D] |
| Baryons from Quarks [Ch. 16, P; Ch. 21, D] |
| Nucleon-Nucleon Force [Ch. 17, P] |
| Few-Body Nuclei [Ch. 18, P] |
| Nuclear Structure [Ch. 19, P] |
| Weak Interactions in Nuclei [Ch. 10, P; Ch. 17, D] |
| Neutrino Physics [Ch. 11, P; Ch. 18, D] |
| Nuclear Astrophysics [Ch. 20, P; Ch. 20, D] |
| Nuclei and Beyond the Standard Model Physics [Ch. 21, D] |
Course Grades
Your grade will be determined in the following manner: from problem sets (40%), a midterm examination (30%), and from an oral presentation of a research paper of your choice (30%).
The bulk of the grade in the course is associated with the problem sets, and rightly so. Working significant problem sets is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the material. You may discuss the problems with others, and even collaborate, but you are required to write out your solutions independently. The problem sets will be issued in approximately two-week intervals, and late work will not be accepted.
In lieu of a final examination, you are asked to choose a research paper(s) of interest to you within the sphere of topics touched upon in Physics 555 (please see me for advice and/or suggestions) and then to present that topic in a presentation of 30 minutes in duration (You should allow 5 minutes for question.). [N.B. It is inappropriate to pick a paper which is closely connected to your thesis research.] We will have our presentations at a to-be-scheduled time during the last week of classes. (On 1/10/19 we picked Thursday and Friday of finals week (May 2-3) from 1-5PM, with a location TBA for our oral presentations. You are to pick a paper for oral presentation by M, March 4. Our midterm is to occur on T evening, March 5, from 7-9 PM, location TBA.)
The bulk of the grade in the course is associated with the problem sets, and rightly so. Working significant problem sets is necessary to develop a genuine understanding of the material. You may discuss the problems with others, and even collaborate, but you are required to write out your solutions independently. The problem sets will be issued in one-two week intervals, and late work will not be accepted. In the event that our class is large, I reserve the right to institute ``die'' homework; that is, for each problem set, the homework problem(s) that are actually graded will be determined by the roll of a die. Note that complete problem set solutions will be available on reserve in the Science library.
Examples of excusable absences are (University Senate Rule 5.2.4.2):
It is good for you to discuss the course material with others, but you really must perform all your course work *independently*. You should write out your solutions by yourself, expressing your solutions in your own words. Cheating and plagiarism in tests or exams, indeed, in all aspects of the course, are very serious academic offenses. Violators of the academic code are subject to punishment in accordance to the University Senate Rules in Sections 6.3 and 6.4.
On-line Course Evaluation
The Course Evaluations will be made available 15 days before the Monday of finals week.