HADRONIC PHYSICS WITH ELECTROWEAK PROBES

Academic Year 2021/2022 - 2° Year - Curriculum NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS
Teaching Staff: Catia Maria Annunziata PETTA and Rossella CARUSO
Credit Value: 6
Scientific field: FIS/04 - Nuclear and subnuclear physics
Taught classes: 42 hours
Term / Semester:

Learning Objectives

The course aims to provide students, regardless of the curriculum they have chosen, an advanced and critical training on neutrino physics, considering both the questions currently open for their understanding and the experiments developed in recent decades and others experiments currently under construction, as well as their impact also in astrophysics and cosmology. The approach followed is of an observational-experimental type.

Knowledge and understanding

Critical understanding of the most advanced developments of Modern Physics, both theoretical and experimental, and their interrelations. Adequate knowledge of advanced mathematical and numerical tools, currently used in both basic and applied research. Remarkable acquaintance with the scientific method, understanding of nature, and of the research in Physics.

Applying knowledge and understanding

Ability to identify the essential elements in a phenomenon, in terms of orders of magnitude and approximation level, and being able to perform the required approximations. Ability to use analytical and numerical tools, or science computing, including the development of specific software.

Making judgements

Ability to convey own interpretations of physical phenomena, when discussing within a research team.

Communication skills

Ability to discuss about advanced physical concepts, both in Italian and in English. Ability to present one's own research activity or a review topic both to an expert and to an non-expert audience.

Learning skills

Ability to acquire adequate tools for the continuous update of one's knowledge. Ability to access to specialized literature both in the specific field of one's expertise, and in closely related fields. Ability to exploit databases and bibliographical and scientific resources to extract information and suggestions to better frame and develop one's study and research activity. Ability to acquire, through individual study, knowledge in new scientific fields.


Course Structure

The teaching will be carried out through lectures and hands-on sessions (hardware and/or software).

Should the circumstances require online or blended teaching, appropriate modifications to what is hereby stated may be introduced, in order to achieve the main objectives of the course.


Detailed Course Content

  • Neutrino hypothesis and historical experiments
  • Properties of neutrinos
  • The Standard Model neutrino
  • Neutrinos as a probe of the nuclear structure
  • Neutrino masses and physics beyond the Standard Model
  • Direct neutrino mass searches
  • Double-beta decay
  • Neutrino oscillations
  • Atmospheric, solar neutrinos and neutrinos from supernovae
  • UHE neutrinos
  • Neutrinos in cosmology

Textbook Information

  1. Zuber, K., Neutrino Physics, CRC Press
  2. B. R. Martin; G. Shaw, Particle Physics, Wiley
  3. Donald H. Perkins, Introduction to high energy physics, Cambridge
  4. David J. Griffiths, Introduction to elementary particles, Wiley
  5. Carlo Giunti; Chung Wook Kim, Fundamentals in neutrino physics and astrophysics, Oxford University Press
  6. F. Halzen; Alan D. Martin, Quarks an leptons: an introductory course in modern particle physics, Wiley