Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology

You will learn about the properties of the atomic nucleus. You will see how the strong force holds together nucleus. Decays (alpha, beta and gamma) will also be studied. The course covers nuclear reactions and you will learn how these can be used in a nuclear power plant. In addition you will reflect over ethical and societal questions regarding the use of nuclear energy. After the nuclear physics part of the course, you will go more deeply into the particles that exist inside the nucleus. You will learn particle physics and see how the proton and neutron consist of quarks which are held together by the strong force. You will also study the different types of particles in Nature (bosons, fermions, leptons, quarks and hadrons) and see how the Standard Model of particle physics can be used to understand how these particles interact with each other. You will also learn about Feynman diagrams and make calculations on cross sections and lifetimes. The Standard Model includes the Higgs boson and you will learn how this particle was discovered and how its existence implies that we understand the origin of the masses of the fundamental particles. You will also study phenomena that the Standard Model cannot explain such as dark matter and the asymmetry between matter and anti-matter. After the particle physics part you will study astrophysics and cosmology. You will see how stars are formed and how fusion reactions lead ultimately to the radiation we see from the sun. You will also study processes that took place in the early universe (nucleosynthesis) and will also learn about dark matter and dark energy, two mysteries that we are still unable to solve.