SUBJECT
Detector systems in particle and nuclear physics
lecture
master
3
Semester 3
Autumn semester
Basic operating principles of particle- and nuclear physics detectors. Important detector types: drift chambers, Cherenkov detectors, Time of Flight detectors, Time Projection Chambers, calorimeters, muon detectors, semiconductor trackers, GEMs. The interaction of particles with matter. Important experimental discoveries. Basic operating principles of particle accelerators, and various challenges. Cryotechnology and superconducting magnets, beam optics. Experiments based on cosmic radiation. Experiments with neutrinos. Large experiments based at modern particle accelerator facilities. Design of experiments and various challenges. Principles of measurement of various physics quantities. Particle identification. Basic information on electronics used in nuclear physics experiments. Hadron spectrosopy, experimental reconstruction of resonances and weakly decaying particles. Application of important statistical methods in nuclear physics. Classification of particles from the experimental point of view, their detection, lifetime, identification methods. Experimental difficulties and theoretical importance of the measurement of a few selected particles. Discussion of some of the most important discoveries in particle physics. Brief overview of the experimental methods based on nuclear physics (e.g. Mossbauer-effect) and other practical applications (medical diagnostics, therapy, nuclear energy).
required readings:
- W. R. Leo: Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments: A How-To Approach, Springer-Verlag Berlin, 1987
recommended readings:
- Glenn F. Knoll: Radiation detection and measurement. John Wiley & Sons USA 1989.