6B12PHY: NUCLEAR, PARTICLE & ASTROPHYSICS

UNIT 1: NUCLEAR STRUCTURE & RADIOACTIVITY

Atoms - atomos- 'indivisible' - constituents of matter - Conceptualised by Greek

philosophers Democritus and Leucippus- around 450-420 B.C

Structure of Atoms-Atomic Theories/Models:

1. Thomson's model - Plum Pudding Model

2. Rutherford Model - Planetary Model
3. Bohr Model - Semiclassical
4. Quantum Mecanical Models

Rutherford's Alpha particel Scattering Experiment (1911)

- Performed by Geiger & Marsden

- Rough estimate of the size of the nucleus

 UNIT 1: NUCLEAR STRUCTURE & RADIOACTIVITY

Nuclear/Particle Physics:

- Study of subatomic particles & how they interact

- How neutrons and protons arrange themselves inthe nucleus?
- Why some nuclei are more stable than others?

Subatomic Particles (Particles smaller than atoms)

Elementary/Fundamental Particles Composite Particles

(No known substructure) (can have substructure)
example: electron, neutrino, photon etc. Examples: protons, neutrons etc
(Possess quark substructure)
 Atomic Physics Vs Nuclear Physics

Atomic Physics Vs Nuclear Physics

•Size of atom – Angstrom ; size of nucleus – Fermi

•Nuclei are subject to the laws of quantum physics.

•Atomic binding energy – eV ; Nuclear binding energy – MeV

•Both atoms and nuclei possess ground and excited states.

•Nuclear Transitions emit gamma ray photons

•Atoms- Coulombic force between electrons and the nucleus

•Nucleus – Nuclear force between the nucleons – Complicated - No analytical expression

•Nuclear properties – by analysing interactions between different nuclei, radioactivity, etc.

BASIC TERMINOLOGY/CONCEPTS:

Atomic mass unit - amu or u: 1/12 of the mass of a C-12 atom = 1.66054 x 10^-27 kg

Electron volt (eV)- Energy acquired by an electron while moving through a pd of 1 V

Mass-energy equivalence:

E = mc^2

Energy equivalent of 1 kg = 9 x 10^16 J - very high!

Energy equivalent of 1 g = 9 x 10^13 J

Energy equivalent of 1 u = 931.49 MeV

Note: Mass of subatomic particles is also expressed in MeV/c^2

Erratum
 Nuclear Constituents

•Nucleus – Entire positive charge & 99.9% of atomic mass – Charge +Ze
•Atomic Number (Z)- Number of protons in the nucleus
•Mass Number (A) – Total number of protons and neutrons: A = Z + N
•Earlier models of nucleus: proton-electron model – Failed
Reasons for failure:
1. Discrepancy in the theoretical and measured KE of electrons in beta decay (19 MeV Vs 1 MeV)
2. Discrepancy in the total intrinsic spin of nucleus (Deuterium – total spin is 1)
•Dilemma resolved in 1932 – Discovery of neutron – neutral, roughly same mass as that of proton. –
lead to proton-neutron model of nucleus
•N = A – Z
•Nucleons = Protons + Neutrons
 Nuclear Constituents

•Chemical properties of an element depends on Z not A

•Isotopes – same Z (same no. of p), different A (different no. of n)

•Three isotopes for Hydrogen:

1. Ordinary Hydrogen (Z=1, A=1)

2. Deuterium (Z=1, A=2)
3. Tritium (Z=1, A=3)
•Symbol : , X – the chemical symbol

Isobars - Nuclei with same number of nucleons (i.e, same A) but different number of
protons (different Z)

Isotones - Nuclei with same number of neutrons (i.e., same N), but different number of
protons and different mass number A

Nuclide: A particular nuclear species

 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
# How do we get an idea?

# It is difficult to define precisely the radius of a nucleus!

# Most nuclei are almost spherical in shape.

Salient Features:
1. The nuclear density remains almost constant within the nucleus.
2. The nuclear density is independent of the mass number, A.
 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
Compute the approximate nuclear radii for (i) C-12 (ii) Ge-70 and (iii) Bi-209
 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
Obtain the ratio of nuclear radii of gold isotope Au-197 and silver Ag-107. What is the approximate
ratio of their nuclear mass densities?

The radius of Ho-165 is 7.731 fm. Deduce the radius of He-4.

 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
Compute the density of a typical nucleus and find the resultant mass if we could manufacture a nucleus
with a dadius of 1 cm.
 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
Methods of determination of size of a nucleus:

1. Scattering by Alpha particles (Rutherford scattering):

 Nuclear Sizes & Shapes
Methods of determination of size of a nucleus:
1. Scattering by Alpha particles (Rutherford scattering)

2. Scattering by electrons:
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

Atomic Binding energy:

The extra energy obtained when an atom is assembled from its constituents.
OR
It is the energy needed to disassemble the atom into free electrons and the nucleus.
OR
It is the sum of ionisation energies of all the electrons belonging to a specific atom.
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies
The Nuclear Mass defect
# The mass of a nucleus is always less than the sum of the individual masses of the protons and neutrons which constitute it.

# The difference in rest mass of the nucleus and the total rest mass of the individual nucleons is called the mass defect.

# It is a measure of the nuclear binding energy which holds the nucleus together.

# This binding energy can be calculated from the Einstein relationship: Nuclear binding energy = Δmc^2
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

Nuclear Binding Energy (B) (Separation Energy)

It is the energy required to separate a nucleus into its constituent protons and neutrons.
OR
The energy that would be liberated by combining individual protons and neutrons into a single nucleus.
OR
It is the energy equivalent of the mass defect.
Nuclear masses and Binding energies
Nuclear masses and Binding energies
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

Binding Energy per Nucleon

# It is the average energy required to release a nucleon from the nucleus.

i.e. BE/nucleon = Total BE of the Nucleus = B

Mass number A

# BE per nucleon is a direct measure of the stability of the nucleus. i.e., Greater the B/A, the more stable the nucleus is.
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

Conclusions:

# Fe-56 nucleus is more tightly bound than U-238 nucleus.

# More energy will be released by assembling a group of nucleons into Fe-56 than assembling them into U-238!
Nuclear masses and Binding energies
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

The Binding energy Curve (Stability Curve)

# It is a graph between the Binding energy per nucleon and the mass number of varous nuclei.

# The BE/nucleon is very small for lighter nuclei like deuterium (1.11 MeV) and rises to a maximum of 8.795 MeV
for Ni-62 and then falls to values of 7.5 MeV for heavy nuclei like Uranium.

# The shape of the curve is determined mainly by three factors:

1. A constant term, which originate from the fact that nucleons interact only with their nearest neighbours.

2. A sharp decrease for light nuclei as they have more surface nucleons and hence fewer near neighbours.

3. A gradual decrease for heavy nucei due to the Coulomb repulsion of the nuclear protons.
 Nuclear masses and Binding energies

Two Possibilities to release energy:

1. Split heavy nucleus into two lighter nuceli - NUCLEAR FISSION

2. Combine two lighter nuclei to a heavy one - NUCLEAR FUSION

 The Proton/Neutron Separation energy

The minimum energy required to separate a proton (or neutron) from a nucleus is called proton (or neutron) separation
energy. It is of the range of 5 - 10 MeV, same as that of average BE/nucleon.
 The Nuclear force

The force that binds the nucleons together inside the nucleus is called the nuclear force.

Properties:

1. It is basically attractive.

2. It is the strongest force in nature.

3. It is a short range force.

4. It is charge independent.

5. It is spin dependent.

Note: There are two kinds of nuclear forces- The Strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. Weak nuclear
force is operational during the beta decay and has a smaller range than strong nuclear force.
 The Nuclear force
Origin of Nulear Force- The Exchange force Model

# A molecule is held together by the exchange of electrons. e.g., NaCl. Is it true for Nucleus too?

# The neutrons and protons inside the nucleus mutually exchange a particle, that acts as the mediators/carriers of the
strong force between them.

# The neuton emits a particle, and it exerts a strong force on that particle.

# A nearby proton also exerts a strong force on the particel and can absorb it.

# The proton can then emit a particle that can be absorbed by the neutron.

# i.e., the proton and neutron exert a strong force on the exchange particle, and hence, they appear to exert a force on
each other.

# Hence, the exchange of this particle is keeping the proton and neutron bound within the nucleus by the strong force.

# In 1935, Yukawa proposed that these exchange particles have mass between that of electrons and nuceons - named
the exchange particle as pi mesons (pions) - Meson theory of nuclear force.

# 12 Years later, particles with predicted properties were discovered!

 Radioactive Decay
Basic Info/features:

# The phenomenon of spontaneous disintegration of certain nuclei accompanied by the emission of highly
penetrating radiations.

# Discovered by Henry Becquerrel in 1896.

# The particles/radiation emitted were identified to be alpha particles, beta particles or gamma radiations.

# Radioactive decay is a statistical process through which an unstable nucleus achieves stability.

# Certain isotopes of an element may be unstable and hence radioactive.

# Out of around 800 plus nuclear isotopes known, only around 300 are stable.

# i.e., All combinations of neutron and protons do not form stable nucelei!

# Light nuclei (A < 20) contains almost equal number of neutrons and protons i.e., Z = N denotes the stability line in N-Z
graph.
 Radioactive Decay

# For heavier nuclei, the stability curve bends more and more towards the N-axis, as more neutrons are added to their nuclei to
compensate for the increasing Coulomb repulsion between protons.

# These extra neutrons provides the additional binding energy needed for stability.
 Radioactive Decay
# Unstable nuclei transform into other nuclear species by changing their Z and N of the nucleus in two ways:

1. Alpha decay

2. Beta decay.

# Nuclei in their excited states can emit photons (gamma rays) to reach their ground states, without changing Z or N.

Activity of a sample ( or a or R ):

The rate at which a radioactive nuclei undergoes decay is called the activity of that sample.
OR
It is the number of decays per second.
 Radioactive Decay

# The SI unit of activity is becquerrel (Bq). 1 Bq = 1 decay/second.

# The basic/common unit of activity is curie (Ci), which is the activity of one gram of radium.

# 1 Ci = 3.7 x 10^10 decays/s = 3.7 x 10^10 Bq

# 1 Ci is a very large activity. Hence mCi, microcurie etc. are used.

Decay Constant ( )

# It is the decay probability per nucleus per second, in a given sample.

# It is a very small number, which remains constant in time, for a given material.

# The activity of the sample is related to the number of radioactive nuclei in the sample and the decay constant as:
 Radioactive Decay

The radioactive decay law:

Activity,

Also,

OR
 Radioactive Decay
Half-life

The time taken for the activity of a sample to reduce by half.

OR
The time taken for half of the nuclei in a sample to undergo decay.
 Radioactive Decay

Mean life ( )

# Mean life of a sample = Total life of all nuclei

Number of nuclei present initially

Number of nuclei left undecayed after n half

lives:
# It is the reciprocal of the decay constant.

= 1.44 (Half life)

Hence, mean life is the time after which the activity of a sample reduces to 37 % of the initial activity.
Radioactive Decay
Radioactive Decay
 Conservation laws in radioactive decays

Nature forbids various processes by certain limitations, called conservation laws. The main conservation laws
in radioactive decay are:

1. Conservation of energy

2. Conservation of linear momentum

3. Conservation of angular momentum

4. Conservation of electric charge

5. Conservation of mass number

 Conservation laws in radioactive decays
1. Conservation of energy

# Helps us to predict which decays are energetically possible

# Helps to calculate the rest/kinetic energies of decay products.

Q-value of the decay

It is the difference between the rest mass energies of the reactants (parent/heavy nucleus) and the decay products.

# For the decay to be possible, the Q-value should be positive.

# This excess rest energy in a decay appears as the kinetic energy of the decay products.
 Conservation laws in radioactive decays
2. Conservation of linear mometum

If the initially decaying nucleus is at rest, then the total linear momentum of all of the decay products must sum to zero.

3. Conservation of anguar mometum

The total spin angular momentum of the initial particle before the decay must equal the total angular momentum
(spin plus orbital) of all of the product particles after the decay.
 Conservation laws in radioactive decays

4. Conservation of electric charge

The total net electric charge before the decay must equal the net electric charge after the decay.

5. Conservation of mass number

# The total nucleon number A does not change in decay or reaction processes.

# Nature does not permit us to create or destroy protons and neutrons, although in certain decay processes we can
convert neutrons into protons or protons into neutrons.
 Alpha Decay

In alpha decay, an unstable nucleus disintegrates into a lighter nucleus and an alpha particle (a nucleus of 4He).

# Decay processes release energy, because the decay products are more tightly bound than the initial nucleus.

# The energy released, which appears as the kinetic energy of the alpha particle and the “daughter” nucleus X′.

This Q appears as the KE of the daughter nucleus and the alpha particle.
 Alpha Decay

The KE of the alpha particles emitted is given by:

 Alpha Decay
Quantum Theory of Alpha Decay:

# Alpha decay is an example of quantum-mechanical barrier penetration.

# The alpha particle is trapped inside the nucleus by a barrier due to the Coulomb energy.

# The height of this barrier UB is the Coulomb potential energy of the alpha particle and daughter
nucleus at the radius R.

# The energy of the alpha particle is typically in the range of 4–8 MeV, and so it is impossible
for the alpha particle to surmount the barrier.

# The only way the alpha particle can escape is to “tunnel” through the barrier.

# The probability for the alpha particle to penetrate the barrier can be found by solving the
Schrodinger equation for the potential energy.
 Beta Decay

# In beta decay a neutron in the nucleus changes into a proton (or a proton into a neutron).

# Z and N each change by one unit, but A doesn’t change.

# The emitted particles, which were called beta particles when first observed in 1898, were soon identified as electrons.

Problems Encountered:

1. n → p + e− appears to violate the law of conservation of angular momentum.

2. Energy spectrum of the electrons is continuous, from zero up to some maximum value Kmax

The Q-value of the n-p decay is:

Hence all emitted electrons should have KE of 0.782 MeV, which is not observed!
 Beta Decay
# Experiments in the 1920s showed that all the emitted electrons have less than this energy.

# They have a continuous range of energies from 0 to 0.782 MeV.

Solution of the Problem:

# In 1930, Wolfgang Pauli suggested that there is a third particle emitted in beta decay.

# It has no charge but an intrinsic spin 1/2, so as to conserve the angular momentum.

# The “missing” energy is the energy carried away by this third particle.

# This new particle is called the neutrino (“little neutral one” in Italian) and has the symbol ν

# The antiparticle of the neutrino is the antineutrino ( )

# Later, it was understood that an antineutrino is actually emitted in neutron beta decay.

# Hence, the actual decay process is:

 Beta Decay

# 1. The Negative beta decay of nucleus can thus be represented as:

# The Q-value of this process is given by:

Note:
1. The masses used here are atomic masses and hence the electron mass gets cancelled out.

2. The antineutrino does not appear in the calculation of the Q value because its mass is negligibly small (of
the order of eV/c^2 , compared with the atomic masses measured in units of 10^3 MeV/c^2 ).

# The energy released in the decay (Q-value) appears as KE of antineutrino, electron and the recoil energy of the
nucleus.
 Beta Decay
Sample Problem for Negative Beta decay
 Beta Decay
2. Proton Beta Deacy (Positive Beta Decay):

# In this process, a proton in the nucleus is converted into a neutron, a postron and a neutrino.

# The positron is the antiparticle of the electron; it has the same mass as the electron but the opposite
electric charge.

# Proton beta decay has a negative Q value, and so it is never observed in nature for free protons.

# However, protons in some nuclei can undergo this decay process represented as:

# The Q-value of this process is given by:

Note: 2 m e is used here to account for the mass of positron and the mass of an extra electron in X atom.
Beta Decay
Beta Decay
 Gamma Decay
# Following alpha or beta decay, the final nucleus may be left in an excited state.

# The nucleus will reach its ground state after emitting one or more photons, known as nuclear gamma rays.

# The energy of each photon is the energy difference between the initial and final nuclear states, less a
negligibly small correction for the recoil kinetic energy of the nucleus.

# The energies of emitted gamma rays are typically in the range of 100 keV to a few MeV.

# Nuclei can be excited from the ground state to an excited state by absorbing a photon
of the appropriate energy.

# Typical values for the half-lives of the excited states are 10^−9 to 10^−12 s.
 Gamma Decay
Recoil of Nucleus during Gamma decay.
# When a gamma-ray photon is emitted, the nucleus must recoil to conserve momentum.

# Momentum of a photon is related to its energy as:

# If the nucleus is initially at rest, then momentum conservation requires that the recoil momentum of the nucleus be
equal in magnitude to the momentum of photon. i.e.,

# The Recoil Kinetic energy of the nucleus is given by:

# The gamma ray energy is related to the energies of the initial and final states as:

# Neglecting the recoil energy,

 The Mossbauer effect
The phenomenon of recoilless emission and absorption of gamma ray photons by nuclei bound in a crystal is called
Mossbauer effect.

Nuclear resonant Absorption and emission:

# One way of studying atomic/nuclear systems is to do resonance experiments.

# A group of atoms in their excited state emits radiation which can be absorbed by a collecton of similar atoms
in their ground state-called resonant absorption.

# This is possible, only if the energy of the emitted photon is exactly equal to the difference in energy between excited and
ground states of the absorber.
 The Mossbauer effect
# However, the emitter as well as absorber recoils, in order to conserve the linear momentum.

# Hence, the photon energy will be lesser than the energy required for resonant absorption by the recoil energy.

# Since the spread in energy levels due to the uncertainity in energy is large for atoms, resonant absorption is still possible.
 The Mossbauer effect

# The situation is different in nuclear gamma emission.

# Since KR is so much larger than the width in E, no overlap of emitter and absorber is possible, so resonance absorption
cannot occur.

# A solution to this problem was suggested by Rudolph Mossbauer in 1958.

# It was discovered that the overlap of the emitter and absorber can be restored by placing the radioactive nuclei and the
absorbing nuclei in crystals.

# The crystalline binding energies are large compared with KR , so the individual atoms are held tightly to their positions
in the crystal lattice and are not free to recoil.
 The Mossbauer effect
# The recoil kinetic energy, becomes very small since the M in the denominator is the

mass of the whole crystal, which is very large!

# Since the recoil kinetic energy is made small, and resonant absorption can occur.

# The process of ¨ achieving nuclear resonance by embedding the emitting and absorbing nuclei
in crystal lattices is known as the Mossbauer effect.

# Mossbauer was awarded the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery.

# This phenomenon is the basis of a powerful technique in nuclear science - The Mossbauer Spectroscopy.

# The Mossbauer effect is an extremely precise method for measuring small changes in the energies of photons.

Note: The small remaining difference between the emission and absorption energies can be eliminated
to obtain complete overlap by Doppler-shifting either the emission or absorption energies.
 Natural Radioactivity

# Heavy elements are created in the interior of stars by nuclear reactions which includes both stable as well as
radioactive one.

# Those elelments created long ago having half life of the order of the age of earth (4.5 billion years) are still
present and is responsible for the natural radioactivity.

# Decay processes either changes the mass number by four units (alpha decay) or don't change a at all (beta &
gamma decay)

# Such a series of processes continue until a stable element is formed.

 Natural Radioactivity
Radioactive Decay chains/series

# Since the A values of the members of a decay chain will differ by multiples of 4, four possible chains are expected:4n,
4n+1, 4n+2, and 4 n+3, where n is an integer.

# Each series starts with a relatively stable element and undergoes a number of lpha and beta decays and finally ends with
a stable isotope, usually Pb-206 / Pb-207 / Pb-208.

1. 4n series (Thorium Series) : Here the mass numbers of the member nuclei are exactly divisible by 4. i.e., A = 4n. Th-232 is
the parent nuclide and the series ends with Pb-208.

2. 4n+1 series (Neptunium Series): Mass numbers of the member nuclei obeys A = 4n+1. Parent nuclide is Np-237.

3. 4n+2 series (Uranium series) : Here, A = 4n+2. Parent nuclide is U-238 and ends at Pb-206.

4. 4n+3 series (Actinium series): Here, A = 4n+3, with actinium as a middle member, but first to be identified and ends at
Pb-207.
Radiocarbon dating

# Radioactive elements other than the ones in the series are being produced continuously in the Earth’s atmosphere as
a result of nuclear reactions between air molecules and the high-energy particles known as “cosmic rays.”

# The most notable and useful of these is C-14, which beta decays with a half-life of 5730 y.

# When a living plant absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, a small fraction (about 1 in 10^12) of the carbon atoms is
C-14, and the remainder is stable C-12 (99%), and C-13 (1%).

# This ratio is maintained in the plant body as long as it is alive.

# When the plant dies, its intake of C-14 stops, and the C-14 decays where as amount of C-12 remains constant.

# The age of specimens of organic material can be found out by comparing their C-14 / C-12 ratios to those of living
plants.
 Natural Radioactivity
Radioactive dating:

# Age of a radioactive sample can be determined from the ratio of uranium-238 to Pb-206 atoms present in it.