2. Professors
  3. FUSCO Luigi Antonio
  4. Teaching

NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS

Luigi Antonio FUSCO NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS

0522600056
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS "E. R. CAIANIELLO"
EQF7
PHYSICS
2025/2026

YEAR OF COURSE 2
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2021
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
540LESSONS
112EXERCISES
LUIGI ANTONIO FUSCO T Curriculum
Objectives
THIS TEACHING IS FOCUSED ON THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS IN ASTROPHYSICS

STUDENTS WILL REACH A GOOD GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS PROCESSES IN ASTROPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS. THEY WILL LEARN THE EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES USED TO DETERMINE NUCLEAR QUANTITIES OF ASTROPHYSICAL INTEREST AND THE PATH FROM ASTROPHYSICAL MODELS TO THE COMPARISON OF DATA, IN PARTICULAR THOSE FROM MULTI-MESSENGER ASTRONOMY.

VARIOUS ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVABLES WILL BE COMPUTED AND COMPARED WITH THE OBSERVED DATA FROM NEUTRINOS, COSMIC RAYS, PHOTONS, GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUSES FOR MULTI-MESSENGER ASTRONOMY WILL BE DESCRIBED
Prerequisites
THE COURSE REQUIRES A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS, OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY, OF THE EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS AND OF THE STANDARD MODEL OF PARTICLE PHYSICS. ALL THE REQUIRED NOTIONS WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE STUDENTS DURING CLASSES.
Contents
0 - INTRODUCTION (4H)

SUMMARY OF THE REQUIRED NOTIONS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS, SPECIAL RELATIVITY, EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES IN PARTICLE PHYSICS , AND OF THE STANDARD MODEL THAT ARE NEEDED TO COVER THE TOPICS OF THE COURSE.

1 – NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS (10H)

THE BIG BANG THEORY. A THERMAL HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. OBSERVATIONAL COSMOLOGY. BIG BANG NUCLEOSYNTHESIS. OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCES. BARYOGENESIS.
STELLAR EQUILIBRIUM. NUCLEAR FUSION AND NUCLEOSYNTHESIS. R AND S PROCESSES. THE SOLAR STANDARD MODEL. SOLAR NEUTRINOS AND OSCILLATIONS. MATTER EFFECTS. REACTOR NEUTRINOS. STELLAR EXPLOSIONS. SUPERNOVAE NEUTRINOS

2 - PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS (20H)

THE COSMIC RAY SPECTRUM. ACCELERATION MECHANISMS. GALACTIC SOURCES. COSMIC RAY PROPAGATION. TRANSPORT EQUATIONS. OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCES.

DIRECT DETECTION. BALLOON AND SATELLITE EXPERIMENTS. RESULTS IN DIRECT DETECTION. ELECTRONS AND THEIR PROPAGATION. ANTI-MATTER IN COSMIC RAYS.
INDIRECT DETECTION. AIR SHOWERS. THE KNEE OF THE COSMIC RAY SPECTRUM

THE ANKLE OF THE COSMIC RAY SPECTRUM. PROPAGATION OF ULTRA HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS. GZK EFFECT. HYBRID TECHNIQUES (FLUORESCENCE, RADIO, CHERENKOV). COMPOSITION AND SPECTRUM. THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL UNCERTAINTIES. COMPARISONS WITH MEASUREMENTS AT ACCELERATORS

MUONS IN THE ATMOSHERE AND UNDERGROUND
NEUTRINOS IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND UNDERGROUND. ATMOSPHERIC NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS. BEAM NEUTRINOS.

3 - MULTIMESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS (18H)

LEPTONIC AND HADRONIC MECHANISMS. GEV ASTRONOMY. GALACTIC DIFFUSE FLUX. GALACTIC SOURCES. EXTRA-GALACTIC SOURCES. TRANSIENT SOURCES. TEV ASTRONOMY. EXTENDED GALACTIC SOURCES SORGENTI GALATTICHE ESTESE.

NEUTRINO TELESCOPES. DETECTION AND ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES. HADRONIC MECHANISMS. DIFFUSE FLUX OF COSMIC NEUTRINOS. NEUTRINO SOURCES. GZK NEUTRINOS

GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. DETECTION AND ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES. BLACK HOLE MERGERS. NEUTRON STAR MERGERS. MULTI-MESSENGER OBSERVATIONS. NUCLEOSYNTHESIS

MOTIVATIONS FOR DARK MATTER. DETECTION TECHNIQUES: PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES, DIRECT DETECTION, INDIRECT DETECTION. DARK MATTER DETECTORS. RECENT RESULTS
Teaching Methods
THE COURSE IS BASED ON LECTURES, TOTAL 52 HOURS (40H OF THEORY, 12H OF EXERCISES). ATTENDING LECTURES IS NOT MANDATORY, BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
LECTURES WILL FOLLOW THE SLIDES PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER IN ADVANCE, AND FORESEE EXERCISES TO BE CARRIED OUT BY THE CLASS UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE LECTURER.
Verification of learning
THE ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS WILL BE BASED ON AN ORAL TEST, CARRIED OUT AT THE END OF THE COURSE AS SCHEDULED IN THE OFFICIAL CALENDAR. THE ORAL TEST WILL CONSIST IN A 30 MINUTES DISCUSSION ON THE CONTENTS OF THE COURSE. THE EXAM WILL START FROM A SUBJECT CHOSEN BY THE STUDENT, FOLLOWED BY A FURTHER DISCUSSION OF THE OTHER MAIN TOPICS OF THE COURSE. THE STUDENT SHOULD FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR OR PARTICLE PHYSICS PROCESSES IN A ASTROPHYSICAL SCENARIOS, AND ON THE IMPACT OF THE THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL UNCERTAINTIES.
A BASIC OVERALL KNOWLEDGE OF THE COURSE PROGRAM IS REQUIRED TO PASS THE EXAMINATION (18/30). A 30/30 GRADE IS OBTAINED IF A GLOBAL AND ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOPICS OF THE COURSE IS ACHIEVE. THE MAXIMUM RATING (30 CUM LAUDE) REQUIRES THE ABILITY OF FACING CASES NOT EXPLICITLY INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM, BUT FULLY APPROACHABLE WITH THE PROVIDED INFORMATION.
Texts
LECTURE NOTES PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER, ACCOMPANIED BY THE CORRESPONDING SLIDES.

BASIC TEXTBOOK FOR THE PRELIMINARY SUBJECTS:
INTRODUCTORY NUCLEAR PHYSICS, K. KRANE


NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS:
CAULDRONS IN THE COSMOS, C.E. ROLFS AND RODNEY


PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS AND MULTI-MESSENGER ASTRONOMY:
PARTICLES AND ASTROPHYSICS: A MULTI-MESSENGER APPROACH, M. SPURIO


ALSO, THE FOLLOWING TEXTBOOKS ARE SUGGESTED:

HIGH ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS, M.S. LONGAIR
COSMIC RAYS AND PARTICLE PHYSICS, T.K. GAISSER

THE LECTURER WILL ALSO SUGGEST DURING CLASSES ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FROM THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE TO COMPLEMENT THE INFORMATION GIVEN
More Information
STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO CONTACT THE LECTURER FOR CLARIFICATION ON THE TOPICS OF THE COURSE
Lessons Timetable

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