Related papers: Neutron physics in the early 1930s
Fermi helped establish a new framework for understanding matter, based on quantum theory. This framework refines and improves traditional atomism in two crucial respects. First, the elementary constituents of matter belong to a very small…
The quest for the origin of the chemical elements, which we find in our body, in our planet (Earth), in our star (Sun), or in our galaxy (Milky Way) could only be resolved with a thorough understanding of the nuclear physics properties of…
The physics of the mysterious and stealthy neutrino is at the heart of many phenomena in the cosmos. These particles interact with matter and with each other through the aptly named weak interaction. At typical astrophysical energies the…
On October 22, 1934, in a famous experiment, Enrico Fermi and his colleagues discovered that a significant increase in induced radioactivity can be obtained when neutrons are slowed down by means of hydrogen atoms. This discovery and its…
There are profound connections between neutrino physics and nuclear experiments. Exceptionally precise measurements of single and double beta-decay spectra illuminate the scale and nature of neutrino mass and may finally answer the question…
Neutrinos produced by nuclear reactors have played a major role in advancing our knowledge of the properties of neutrinos. The first direct detection of the neutrino, confirming its existence, was performed using reactor neutrinos. More…
A general overview of neutrino physics is given. The history of the neutrino starting from Pauli and Fermi is briefly presented. Two-component neutrinos, the phenomenological V-A theory and the standard model are discussed. The problem of…
In the 1930's, nuclear physicists developed the first realistic atomic models, showing that nuclei were made up of protons and neutrons. In the 1960's, Deep Inelastic Scattering experiments showed that protons and neutrons had internal…
The concept of extremely dense matter at supra-nuclear density was first speculated by L. Landau in the beginning of 1930s when neutron was just discovered. A historical review on these issues not only explains the interaction between micro…
Experiments using nuclei to probe new physics beyond the Standard Model, such as neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ decay searches testing whether neutrinos are their own antiparticle, and direct detection experiments aiming to identify the nature…
At the early stage of the Universe evolution, when photons and neutrinos are no longer able to prevent nucleosynthesis, the key role is given to neutron component of matter. Neutron component creates a certain variety of the lightest…
Cross sections are calculated for neutrino scattering off heavy nuclei at energies below 50 MeV. The theory of Fermi liquid is applied to estimate the rate of neutrino-nucleon elastic and inelastic scattering in a nuclear medium in terms of…
Now 50 years since the existence of the neutron star crust was proposed, we review the current understanding of the nuclear physics of the outer layers of accreting neutron stars. Nuclei produced during nuclear burning replace the nascent…
Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the close links…
At the "Domus Galilaeana" in Pisa, many original documents and records are kept, which belong to the scientific activity carried out by Enrico Fermi until 1938. I compared those documentary sources with the supported evidences, the personal…
Neutron stars -- compact objects with masses similar to that of our Sun but radii comparable to the size of a city -- contain the densest form of matter in the universe that can be probed in terrestrial laboratories as well as in earth- and…
Gerry Brown initiated some early studies on the coexistence of different nuclear shapes. The subject has continued to be of interest and is crucial for understanding nuclear fission. We now have a very good picture of the potential energy…
Nuclear astrophysics is that branch of astrophysics which helps understanding some of the many facets of the Universe through the knowledge of the microcosm of the atomic nucleus. In the last decades much advance has been made in nuclear…
The quest to comprehend how nuclear processes influence astrophysical phenomena is driving experimental and theoretical research programs worldwide. One of the main goals in nuclear astrophysics is to understand how energy is generated in…
The discovery of neutrinoless double-beta decay could soon be within reach. This hypothetical ultra-rare nuclear decay offers a privileged portal to physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Its observation would constitute the…