Physics 4420 – Nuclear and Particle PhysicsSpring 2012

General Course Information

Prof. Eric D. ZimmermanDuane F-435, x5-5338edz@colorado.edu

• TA/Grader: Scott Johnson (Duane F-411, scott.johnson-1@colorado.edu)

• Class meets in Duane G1B35, MWF 11:00-11:50.

• Problem sets are issued on Monday or Wednesday, and are due on Wednesday of thefollowing week at the beginning of class. The folder will be closed after the lecturebegins.

• No late problem sets will be accepted. This is for practical, not punitive reasons; theproblem set solutions will be published on the due date. If you have an emergencyplease let me know, and I will excuse a set.

• I encourage students to work together on problem sets. However, you must generatesolutions by yourself; simple copies of answers will not be accepted. Be warned that ifyou are collaborating too much and not learning on your own, you may find that yourproblem set scores outpace your understanding of the material. This tends to resultin very unpleasant surprises when exams come around. Note that use of any solutionmanuals when doing homework is strictly prohibited.

• Grading:

– Problem Sets: 30%

– Midterm exam: 15%

– Term paper: 20%

– Final exam: 30%

• Exam dates: Midterm exam: Tuesday, March 13 evening (tentative); please let meknow if you have a major conflict with this date; if not, it will be finalized on January30. Final exam: May 10, 7:30−10:00am. Term paper proposals are due Mar. 12; thepaper is due Apr. 16.

• Class Web Site: http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys4420. Site will containannouncements, lecture notes, problem sets. Solutions will be posted only onCULearn (or D2L if that is working properly).

• Office hours:

– Prof. Zimmerman: Duane F-435, Tuesdays 9:30-10:30 AM (extended to 11:15

many weeks; please check by email). Other times by appointment.

– Scott Johnson (for grading issues): Duane F-333, Fridays 3:00-4:00 PM.

• Student-led discussion session: Mondays at 5:00 pm, starting second week of classes,Gamow Tower 11th floor Commons Room. I have booked this room weekly, so thatstudents have a place for discussing the topics in this course. You should organize thediscussion yourselves, and I will show up for part of the hour to answer questions inan informal recitation environment.

• Required textbooks:

– D. Griffiths, Introduction to Elementary Particles, 2d edition, Wiley, 2008.

– W. N. Cottingham and D. A. Greenwood, An Introduction to Nuclear Physics,2d edition, Cambridge, 2001.

• Other Recommended Books (many on reserve in the library):

– The “Particle Data Book:” K. Nakamura et al. (Particle Data Group), J. Phys.G 37 075021 (2010); online at http://pdg.lbl.gov

– D. Perkins, Introduction to High Energy Phyics, 4th ed.: Cambridge, 2000

– E. Segre, Nuclei and Particles, Benjamin-Cummings, 1977

– S. S. M. Wong, Introductory Nuclear Physics, 2d ed: Wiley, 1999.

– Frauenfelder and Henley, Subatomic Physics, 2d ed: Benjamin-Cummings, 1991.

– Halzen and Martin, Quarks and Leptons, Wiley, 1984 (Graduate level, goodreference for calculations)

• We will be covering selected material from this list (perhaps not in this order):

0. Griffiths Chapter 1: READ BEFORE FIRST LECTURE.

1. Relativistic kinematics of collisions and decays

2. Introduction to Feynman diagrams and the basic interactions

3. The CKM matrix

4. Flavor symmetry, parity, and isospin

5. Hadron wave functions and the eightfold way

6. Accelerators and detectors

7. Calculations with Feynman diagrams

8. The weak interaction

9. Electroweak unification, symmetry breaking, and the Higgs mechanism

10. Nuclear shell model

11. Radioactive decay, fission, and fusion

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Other policies set by the University

Disability issues: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to mea letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed.Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact:303-492-8671, C4C N200, and http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices.

Religious observances: Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that facultymake every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religiousobligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. See fulldetails at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac relig.html. Please contact me if you willmiss a lecture or laboratory session due to religious observance to arrange an appropriate remedy.

Classroom behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining anappropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards maybe subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students withunderstanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits onthe manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy andsensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differencesof race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Classrosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor yourrequest to address you by an alternate name or pronoun (unless you wish to be called“Professor”). Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may makeappropriate changes to my records. See polices athttp://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html andhttp://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student code.

Honor code: All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowingand adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy mayinclude: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, andthreatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor CodeCouncil (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of theacademic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member andnon-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, orexpulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found athttp://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html andhttp://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode.

Discrimination & harassment: The University of Colorado at Boulder policy onDiscrimination and Harassment http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html,the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy onAmorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or facultymember who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race,color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status shouldcontact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office ofJudicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources availableto assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained athttp://www.colorado.edu/odh.

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