Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur

PHY526A (Introduction to nuclear and particle physics)

3-1-0-0-11

04/01/2018

Objectives:
• This course will be pitched at the introductory level to make the student
understand the basic concepts of nuclear physics and particle physics.
• Various aspects of nuclear and particle physics will be discussed from a
phenomenological viewpoint with emphasis on the experimental studies
leading to development of the theoretical structure.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for the course, however it is expected that the student is
well versed with basic quantum mechanics

Course Contents:

Lecture Topics (each topic will be dealt in 2~3 lectures):

• Nuclear Physics:
1. General properties of Nuclei
2. Nuclear two body problem
3. Nuclear force and nuclear models
4. Nuclear decay and radioactivity
5. Nuclear reaction kinematics
6. Scattering and reaction cross section
7. Nuclear Resonances
8. Nuclear fission and fusion.
• Particle Physics:
1. Natural Units
2. Evidence for four fundamental interactions
3. Leptons and hadrons
4. Historical introduction to the particle zoo
5. Introduction to cross sections and decay rates
6. Particle accelerators and detectors,
7. Invariance principles and conservation laws.
Course organization - Schedule

Instructor : Aditya H. Kelkar (email: akelkar@iitk.ac.in, x7985)

Office: Central Nuclear Lab (Northern lab), Ground floor.

Day & time : Lectures : Tue (10:30 – 11:45 hrs)

Thu (12:00 – 13:15 hrs)

Tutorial : Fri (11:00 – 11:50 hrs)

Venue : FB-482 (lecture and tutorial)

Course organization – Evaluation

Total marks = 200

a) Home assignments and Surprise quizzes

: 40 marks [20%]

b) Mid Sem exam (theory) : 60 Marks (2 hrs) [30%]

c) End Sem exam (theory) : 100 Marks (3 hrs) [50%]

d) Regular assignments will be given for practice.

Course Policies:

• Attendance in the End semester examination is necessary to secure a

passing grade. Failing to do so will automatically lead to an F grade
irrespective of your performance in previous exam components.
• No make-up will be offered for quizzes and mid-sem exam.

Books & References:

1. Concepts of Nuclear Physics by B. L. Cohen (Tata McGraw-Hill publishing

company)
2. Introductory Nuclear Physics by K. S. Krane (John wiley and sons)
 3. Nuclear Physics by I. Kaplan (Narosa publishing house)
4. Introduction to elementary particles by D. Griffiths (Wiley-VCH verlag GmbH
and Co.)
5. Introduction to high energy physics by D. H. Perkins (Cambridge university
press)

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Aditya H. Kelkar 31/07/2017