FYS4525 – Advanced Nuclear Reactions and Applications in Astrophysics

After completing this course:

• you will have knowledge of how elements heavier than iron could be formed in astrophysical environments, especially the s-process, the r-process, and the p-process.
• you will have a detailed knowledge of the importance of nuclear structure physics and nuclear reactions underlying nuclear astrophysical processes.
• you will have a detailed knowledge of the nuclear reaction models, such as the Hauser-Feshbach formalism, relevant to nuclear astrophysics.
• you will be able to calculate nuclear cross-sections e.g. neutron capture cross-sections.
• you will have hands-on training in running the state-of-of-the-art reaction code TALYS using both experimental and theoretical level densities and gamma strength functions as inputs.
• you will have knowledge of experimental nuclear physics methods and techniques used for measuring nuclear properties for nuclear astrophysical processes.

The course is relevant for students admitted to Physics (master), specialization in Nuclear and Particle Physics. Other students may apply only if this is cleared with their supervisor.

Please fill in the application form.

Contact the sudieinfo@fys.uio.no if you are unsure if you are eligible to apply.

The course will be given as an intensive course over two weeks with 30 hours of lectures and 30 hours of problem sessions and hands-on calculations using the TALYS code. There will be a mandatory report, with a deadline several weeks after the intensive course.

As the teaching involves laboratory and/or field work, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance. Read about your insurance cover as a student.

• Home exam in the form of a report on TALYS calculations, which counts 100 % towards the final grade.

When writing your exercises make sure to familiarize yourself with the rules for use of sources and citations. Breach of these rules may lead to suspicion of attempted cheating.

It will also be counted as one of the three attempts to sit the exam for this course, if you sit the exam for one of the following courses: FYS9525 – Advanced Nuclear Reactions and Applications in Astrophysics

In this course, postponed exams are not offered for exam candidates who are ill before the exam or who become ill during the exam. A deferred submission deadline can be offered.

The illness must be documented with a doctor's certificate dated no later than the ordinary submission date. You must submit the doctor's certificate to the course's contact point before the submission deadline for the home exam.

New exams are not offered to candidates who withdraw or do not pass the regular exam.