PHYS5720
Fall 2011

Syllabus
Textbooks
Calendar

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PHYS5720: Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics

FALL 2011        

Textbooks (and how to use them):

Because the material covered in this course is rather wide and most are still under rapid development, no single textbook is ideal and you should treat them more as a guide to the subject.

All textbooks listed here can be found on the reserved shelf in the Physics Library.

Nuclear Physics

The last couple of lectures will be on the "traditional" nuclear physics, covering basics such as nuclear bulk properties, nuclear radioactive decays and applications. The material is selected from Nuclear and Particle Physics, an introduction, 2nd edition, by B.R. Martin. 

Particle Physics

The majority of the lectures will focus on particle (high energy) physics. These lectures will follow Griffiths, David J., Introduction to Elementary Particles, Second, Revised Edition, (Wiley-Vch, ISBN: 978-3-527-40601-2), available at the UVa bookstore for $105.  

A more advanced book is Quarks and Leptons, An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics, by F. Halzen & A.D. Martin, ISBN 0-471-88741-2. The texts of this book are rather concise and to the point, and may provide more intuitive views for some topics.  In fact, if you are planning to go to graduate school and major in nuclear and/or particle (high-energy) physics, you will find this book an inevitable. However, I personally find this book does not provide enough working knowledge for beginners, hence is not officially adopted for this course. If any material is used from this book, it will be included in the lecture notes and will be provided online.