Physics 771: Nuclear Physics

Spring 2002

Instructor: D.S. Armstrong
Times: Monday, Wednesday 12:30 - 1:50 PM
Location: Small Hall, Room 102
Prerequisites: Physics 621/622 (Graduate Quantum Mechanics) or equivalent;
    Physics 721 (Advanced Quantum Mechanics) or equivalent recommended.
    No previous nuclear physics course required.

Evaluation:

Assignments : 50%
about one every 2 weeks.
Term paper : 50%    (10% references, 20% paper, 20% talk)
at end of the term, students will prepare a short (6-10 page) review of a paper from the literature,
and present a short (30 minute) talk.

Syllabus     (Preliminary)

  1. Overview of Fundamental Forces, Particle Classifications
  2. Conservation Laws, Noether's theorem
  3. Isospin [SU(2) flavor]
  4. Kinematics etc.
    Cross Sections
    Mandelstam variables
    Crossing Symmetry
  5. Group Theory
    Poincare group
    Product Representations
    Multiplets
  6. SU(3) [flavor, color]
    Strangeness
    Baryon and Meson spectroscopy
    Introduction to QCD
  7. Nuclear Properties
    Nuclear Radii
    Semi-Empirical Mass Formula
    Magnetic and Electric moments, Schmidt lines
    Infinite Nuclear Matter
  8. Nuclear Force
    Saturation
    Yukawa Model
    Tensor, Spin-Orbit, Spin-Spin Forces etc.
    Infinite Nuclear Matter
    Meson-Exchange Models (Paris, Bonn Potentials)
    Scattering Length, Effective Range
  9. Electromagnetic Interactions
    Gamma Decay, selection rules
    Internal Conversion
    Weiskopf Units
    Angular Correlations
  10. Weak Interactions
    Allowed Fermi, Gamow-Teller beta-decay
    Forbidden beta-decay; selection rules
    Parity non-conservation, neutrino helicity
    V-A theory, CVC, Cabbibo theory
  11. Alpha Decay
  12. Fission
  13. Vibrations
    Giant Resonances
    Liquid Drop Model
  14. Shell Model
    Spin-orbit coupling
    Hartree-Fock
    Residual Interactions
    Pairing Gap
    Schematic Model of Vibrations
  15. Rotational Motion
    Nilsson Model
    High-Spin states
  16. Algebraic Approaches: Interacting Boson Models   (if time permits)
    IBM-1, IBM-2
    IBM-2
    IBFM
  17. Hypernuclei - a new degree of freedom   (if time permits)
  18. Nucleon Structure
    Electron Scattering
    Rosenbluth decomposition, F1, F2
    Electromagnetic Form Factors
    Deep Inelastic Scattering, structure functions
    Callan-Gross, EMC effect(s)
    Scaling Violations
  19. Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Physics / Quark-Gluon Plasma   (if time permits)
  20. Selected Additional Topics of relevance to Jefferson Lab physics   (if time permits)

Contact points for D. Armstrong: 

Office (W & M):   (757) 221-3489
Office (Jefferson Lab): (757) 249-5007
FAX:            (757) 221-3540
E-Mail: armd@physics.wm.edu
Snail-Mail:   Dept. of Physics 
              College of William and Mary 
              Williamsburg, Virginia
              23187    USA



 

 last updated January 14 2002 



W & M Physics Department


armd@physics.wm.edu