University of Wisconsin

Experimental Methods in Nuclear, Particle, and Astrophysics - PHYS736

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Course Description

Topics: Interaction of radiation and particles with matter; common particle detection techniques in accelerator and nonaccelerator experiments; detectors at colliding beam machines, in neutrino physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and experimental cosmology; experimental strategies in detector design; principles of detector simulation and monte carlo methods, error analysis and statistical techniques in data analysis.

Course Information

Lectures & Course Schedule

The slides shown in class only supplement but not substitute the in-class lecture notes.

# Day Date Topics Required Reading Homework Slides
1 Wed Jan 19, 2010 Radiation and Matter:
- basic nuclear processes
- radiation sources 		Leo, chapter 1
PDG, common radioactive sources		 pdf
2 Mon Jan 25, 2010 Radiation and Matter:
- radiation sources and radioactivity
Interaction of Radiation with Matter:
- neutrons		 Leo, chapter 2
PDG, interaction with matter
PDG, common radioactive sources 		pdf
3 Wed Jan 27, 2010 Interaction of Radiation with Matter:
- photons
- charged particles 		Longair, chapter 4
Leo, chapter 2
PDG, interaction with matter		 HW#1
due Feb 8		 pdf
4 Mon Feb 1, 2010 Interaction of Radiation with Matter:
- charged particles 		Longair, chapter 2
Longair, chapter 3
Longair, chapter 4
Leo, chapter 2
PDG, interaction with matter		 pdf
5 Wed Feb 3, 2010 Interaction of Radiation with Matter:
- charged particles
- radiation shielding, dose 		Longair, chapter 2
Longair, chapter 3
Leo, chapter 2
PDG, interaction with matter
PDG, radoactivity/radiation protection		 HW#2
due Feb 15		 pdf
Mon Feb 8, 2010 no lecture, to be rescheduled - HW#1 due today
Mon Feb 15, 2010 no lecture, to be rescheduled - HW#2 due today
6 Wed Feb 17, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- basic detector properties:
- energy resolution
- response function
- dead time
Leo, chapter 5
Knoll, chapter 4
PDG, detectors for non-accelerator physics
PDG, detectors for accelerators
 HW#3
due Feb 22 		pdf
7 Mon Feb 22, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- dead time
- scintillation detectors 		Leo, chapter 7
Knoll, chapter 8
PDG, detectors for non-accelerator physics
PDG, detectors for accelerators
Meeks and Siegel, Am.J.Phys.,Volume 76, Issue 6, pp. 589-590
Lucke, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 47, 766 (1976), doi:10.1063/1.1134733
 HW#3 due today pdf
8 Wed Feb 24, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- ionization detectors 		Leo, chapter 6
Knoll, chapter 5-7
PDG, detectors for non-accelerator physics
PDG, detectors for accelerators
 pdf
9 Mon Mar 1, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- detectors for accelerator experiments
- ATLAS and CMS 		PDG, detectors for non-accelerator physics
PDG, detectors for accelerators
 pdf
10 Wed Mar 3, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- semiconductor detectors 		Leo, chapter 10
PDG, detectors for non-accelerator physics
PDG, detectors for accelerators
 HW #4
due Mar 10
 pdf
11 Mon Mar 8, 2010 Statistics:
- introduction
- treatment of experimental data
 Leo, chapter 4
PDG, probability
PDG, statistics
 pdf
12 Wed Mar 10, 2010 Statistics:
- syst and stat errors
- maximum likelihood
- parameter estimation
least square method
Leo, chapter 4
PDG, intro
PDG, probability
PDG, statistics
 HW #5
due Mar 17
 pdf
13 Wed Mar 15, 2010 Statistics:
- Bayesian/Frequentist approach
- hypothesis testing and significance
- confidence intervals and limits
- Feldman/Cousin method
Leo, chapter 4
PDG, probability
PDG, statistics
 pdf
14 Wed Mar 17, 2010 Statistics:
- Bayesian/Frequentist approach
- confidence intervals and limits
Monte Carlo Techniques:
- random numbers
Bevington, chapter 5
PDG, monte carlo techniques
PDG, MC particle numbering scheme
Feldman and Cousin, Phys. Rev. D 57, 3873-3889 		HW#5 due today
HW #6 due Apr 7
 pdf
15 Wed Mar 22, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- thermal detectors
- microcalorimeters in astrophysis
Enss, Cryogenic Particle Detection
 pdf
16 Wed Mar 24, 2010 Particle Detectors:
- air showers
- ground based air shower detectors
- radio detection
Anchordoqui and Montaruli, Ann.Rev.Nuc.Part.Phys, 2009
 pdf
Mon Mar 29, 2010 no lecture spring recess
Wed Mar 31, 2010 no lecture spring recess
17 Mon Apr 5, 2010 Statistics:
- goodness of fit
- hypothesis testing
James, chapters 10-11
Barlow, chapters 7-9
PDG, statistics
 pdf
18 Wed Apr 7, 2010 Numerical Methods:
- Taylor series
- finite difference calculus
- interpolation and extrapolation
Hornbeck, chapters 2-4
 HW#6 due today
pdf
19 Mon Apr 12, 2010 Numerical Methods:
- interpolation and extrapolation
- data smoothing
- roots of equations
- numerical integration
Hornbeck, chapters 5, 8
Bevington, appendices A-B
pdf
20 Wed Apr 14, 2010 Numerical Methods:
- simultaneous equations
- matrix eigenvalue problem
Analysis Techniques:
- blind analysis 		Hornbeck, chapters 6,9,10
Bevington, appendices A-B
Klein and Roodman, Ann.Rev.Nuc.Part.Phys.,2005 		pdf
21 Mon Apr 19, 2010 Accelerator Techniques:
- introduction & history
- basic accelerator techniques
Henley, chapter 2
PDG, accelerator physics of colliders
PDG, high-energy collider parameters
 pdf
22 Wed Apr 21, 2010 Accelerator Techniques:
- accelerator machines
- collisions
Course Review:
- what did we learn?
PDG, accelerator physics of colliders
PDG, high-energy collider parameters
 pdf
23 Mon Apr 26, 2010 Course Project:
- independent work period 		Benka, Physics Today, Dec 2008
effective science communication
24 Wed Apr 28, 2010 Course Project:
- independent work period
25 Mon May 7, 2010 Course Project:
- final presentations 		finalpresentations
26 Wed May 14, 2010 Course Project:
- final presentations 		finalpresentations

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© 2009 Prof. Karsten Heeger
Last modified: January 18, 2011, 10:41 am.