PHY 310 - Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics

Union College Fall 2005

Instructor:

Rebecca Surman
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Office: Science and Engineering N320
Phone: x6649
Email: surmanr@union.edu
Homepage: http://www1.union.edu/~surmanr

Class times and Location:

Science and Engineering N303
12:05-1:10pm MWF

Syllabus

Announcements:

Office hours

Weekly topics and homework:

Week 1 - Sept 7 - 13

       The Fundamental Particles
       Reading: Dunlap Chapters 1&2 - Basic Concepts & Particles and Interactions
                     Griffiths Chapter 1 - Historical Introduction to the Elementary Particles (on reserve)
       Cloud Chamber
       Bubble Chamber
       Homework #1 (Microsoft Word document)

Week 2 - Sept 14 - 20

       The Quark Model of Hadrons
       The Fundamental Interactions
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 14 - Particles and Interactions
                     Dunlap Chapter 15 - The Standard Model
                     Griffiths Chapter 2 - Elementary Particle Dynamics (on reserve)

       Homework #2&3 (Microsoft Word document)

Week 3 - Sept 21 - 27

       The Weak Interaction
       Conservation Laws and Symmetries
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 16 - Particle Reactions and Decays
                     Griffiths Chapter 4 - Symmetries (on reserve)

       Homework #2&3 There is an addition to the homework - for Dunlap, Chapter 16, #7&8, draw a possible Feynman diagram for EACH allowed decay or interaction. Due to this addition, the homework will now be due on Friday, September 30.

Week 4 - Sept 28 - Oct 4

       Conservation Laws and Symmetries
       Parity and Charge Conjugation
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 16 - Particle Reactions and Decays
                     Griffiths Chapter 4 - Symmetries (on reserve)
                     Das & Ferbel Chapter XI - Discrete Transformations (handout)

       Homework #4 due Wednesday, October 5.

Week 5 - Oct 5 - 11

       CP violation
       EXAM #1, Friday, October 7
       Beyond the Standard Model
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 17 - Grand Unified Theories and the Solar Neutrino Problem
       Homework #5 will be assigned after the exam.

Week 6 - October 12 - 18

       Rutherford Scattering
       Nuclear Properties
       Liquid Drop Model
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 3 - Nuclear Composition and Size
                     Dunlap Chapter 4 - Binding Energies and the Liquid Drop Model
       Homework #5 due Wednesday, October 19

Week 7 - October 19 - 25

       Nuclear magnetic moment
       Fermi Gas Model
       Spherical Shell Model
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 5 - The Shell Model
       Homework #6 due Wednesday, October 26

Week 8 - October 26 - November 1

       Ground State Spins and Parities in the Spherical Shell Model
       Excited Nuclear States
       Radioactive Decay
       Reading: Dunlap Chapter 6 - Properties of the Nucleus
                     Dunlap Chapter 7 - General Properties of Decay Processes
                     Dunlap Chapter 8 - Alpha Decay
       Homework #7 due Monday, October 31

Exams and Papers:

Article summary #1 was due on Monday, September 26.
Exam #1 was on Friday, October 7.
       Exam materials:
       tables
       Eightfold Way
Article summary #2 will be due on Friday, October 21.
Project Topic will be due on Wednesday, October 26.
Exam #2 will be on Wednesday, November 2.
       Exam materials:
       equations

Project presentations will take place in class during the week of November 9-14
The final draft of the presentation will be due by the end of the scheduled final exam time - no later than 4:30pm on Monday, November 21.

September 26, 2005