Chapter 1 The Nucleus 1.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, we present the concept of the nucleus, nuclear constituents and nuclear properties, such as mass, size, angular momentum, etc. To understand the concept of nucleus, it is worthwhile to review the development of various atomic models. 1.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS The beginning of the nuclear physics may be traced back to the studies on atomic structure started with discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by Henry Becquerel. Further, three different modes of radioactivity were observed emitting a-particles, b-particles and g-rays. It is well known that a-particles are helium nuclei, b-particles are either electrons or positrons and g- rays are high-energy electromagnetic radiations. Scattering of a-particles with matter revealed the existence of nucleus inside the atom. In the following paragraphs, various models are presented for establishing the structure of atom. and nucleus. Dalton’s Atomic Hypothesis The human beings have always been inquisitive to know the basic nature of the matter present in the surroundings. Breaking a piece of matter into smaller and smaller parts, search was made for its constituents, which are capable of independent existence. The atomic picture of matter is generally credited to Greeks. Around 400 B.C., the Greek philosopher Democritus postulated that all matter is made up of minute particles, which could not be broken up. Around the same times, perhaps earlier Kanada (an Indian philosopher) proposed the concept of parmanu, which in the similar sense, means ultimate constituents of matter. Continuing this search, Dalton in 1803 proposed an atomic theory ofmatter, which has the following postulates: 1. All elements consist of discrete particles, called atoms. These atoms cannot be subdivided by any known chemical process. 2. All atoms of the same element are identical in all respects, especially in weight. Atoms of different elements differ in weight. 3. A compound is formed by the union of atoms of different elements in simple numerical proportions, for example, 1 atom of sodium combines with 1 atom of chlorine to produce one molecule of sodium chloride. Similarly, 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen combine to give a molecule of water. Till the end of the nineteenth century, scientists did not have any clue about the structure of atom. All that they knew about the atom was that it is neutral. Works of Faraday, Maxwell and JJ. Thomson provided the first insight into the atomic structure with the discovery of electron in 1897. It was also realized that all atoms contain electrons, which carry negative charge. Since atom is neutral, so positive charge must be present in the atom. The question arises, what kind of positive charge is present and how is positive charge arranged in the atom? Thomson Model of Atom Discovery of electron in the famous cathode ray experiment by J.J. Thomson provided a starting point for theories of atomic structure. Since electrons are found to cary negative charge, and atom on the whole is electrically neutral, question arose about the magnitude and distribution of positive charge inside the atom. One suggestion about the arrangement of positive charge in the atom was made by J.J. Thomson, who suggested that atoms are simply lumps of matter with positive charge and electrons are embedded in these lumps. This model is popularly known as Plum-Pudding model, where plums are negative electrons which are placed in the pudding of smeared positive charge. This model is also called watermelon model, where seeds are negative electrons. The pictorial representation is given in Figure 1.1. This model was consistent with the observed overall neutrality of the matter and explained the flow of current in matter. As it turned out later, that the real picture of the atom is quite different from Thomson’s model.&Q ee Figure 1.1 Plum-pudding model of the nucleus as given by J.J. Thomson. Plums are represented by ~ sign and pudding is represented by + sign. Rutherford Model of Atom The failure of the Thomson model was finally established in its inability to explain scattering of a-particles by atoms. The scattering of a-particles can be described in terms of the electrostatic Coulomb force between the a-particles and the charges which make up atoms. In the case of Thomson model, the average deflection of a-particles by a single atom should be very small in contrast to the experimental results. In 1911, Ernst Rutherford and his co-workers studied the way the a-particles got scattered when they passed through thin gold foil. They made the following observations: 1. Most of the a-particles went straight without getting deflected by the presence of gold foil. 2. Some a-particles, whose numbers were comparatively smaller, suffered small angle deviations. 3. Still smaller number of a-particles, about 1 in 8000, was back-scattered, i.e. through angles lying between 90” and 180” . Rutherford failed to explain these observations on the basis of Thomson model. From these observations, it was concluded that atom has large empty space as most of a-particles pass through the gold foil undeflected. So, he proposed a new picture to explain the structure of atom. He assumed that the positive charge of the atom was concentrated in a minute centre, called nucleus, instead of being distributed uniformly in whole of the atom. Thus, Rutherford transformed the static model of Thomson into a dynamic model, also known as the Planetary Model. He concluded that atom contains a positively charged sphere whose size was estimated to be 10-14 metres and he also concluded that atomic mass is concentrated in this sphere. This sphere was later on known as nucleus of the atom. There are just enough electrons around the nucleus to make atom electrically neutral. Rutherford developed a detailed theory of the scattering ofa-particles by matter, which was tested in 1913 by Geiger and Marden. They investigated dependence of the a-scattering on various quantities like angle of scattering, thickness of scattering material, velocity of a-particles, nuclear charge, etc. The remarkable agreement between the predictions of Rutherford’s theory and the experimental results established the concept of the nuclear atom. In fact, such experiments using faster a-particles showed deviations from the Coulomb law of scattering, which provided the first evidence of the existence of the nuclear force. 1.3 CONSTITUENTS OF THE NUCLEUS So far, the atomic nucleus remains a vague concept. In the Rutherford model, it has been described as very small, in fact point-like, and is also supposed to contain practically all of the mass of the atom. So, in later experiments more quantitative information was sought about the size and structure of the nucleus. In the following sections, constitution of the nucleus is discussed. As stated above, the nucleus of the atom has a very small size (its volume is 10715 times the volume of the atom i.e. volume of the nucleus is of the order of 10-45 m3), This compact size of the nucleus contains whole of the positive charge and practically the whole mass of the atom. Following are the two hypotheses to explain the compact structure of the nucleus: 1. Proton-electron hypothesis. 2. Proton-neutron hypothesi 1.3.1 Proton—Electron Hypothesis In order to explain observed properties of the nucleus, firstly it was proposed that the nucleus constitutes protons and electrons. This model is known as proton-electron model. The concept of the build-up of the nucleus in terms of the elementary constituents was based on the fact that certain atoms emit a- and b-rays, which are corpuscular in nature. As proposed by Prout, atomic weights A of the elements are close to integers. The fractional parts are contributed by the isotopes of the elements. The mass of the proton is approximately equal to the mass of the hydrogen atom. In fact, the hydrogen nucleus was given the name proton, which shows its importance as a fundamental constituent of nuclei of all atoms. To account for mass of the nucleus whose atomic weight is close to integer A, called the mass number, it is necessary to assume that nucleus contains Aprotons. But if this was the case the charge of the nucleus will be equal to A, nearly the same as atomic weight and not equal to atomic number Z. As is well known, value of Z is half or less than half of the atomic weight. To get over this difficulty, it was assumed that in addition to protons the nuclei contain A — Z electrons. The presence of electrons would not contribute to the mass of nucleus but would make the charge Z as required. Thus, it was possible to consider atom made up of a nucleus containing A protons and A — Z electrons surrounded by Z extra-nuclear electrons. Success of the Proton—Electron Hypothesis This hypothesis seems to be consistent with the emission of a- and b-particles in radioactive elements. The presence of electrons directly ensures the emission of b-particles, and emission of a-particles is assumed by the combination of 4 protons and 2 electrons in the nucleus. These a-particles may exist as such or may be formed at the instant of emission. Failure of Proton-Electron Hypothesis Following are the arguments, which led to the failure of proton-electron hypothesis. 1. Spin and statistics: The statistical nature of nuclei can be built up from rotational spectra of diatomic molecules. If the nucleus (A, Z) contains A protons and (A ~ Z) electrons, the spin of odd-odd nucleus or odd-even nucleus would not agree with experimental results. Take the case of odd— odd nucleus !4N. An even number of protons (i.e. 14) produces an integral spin, while an odd number of electrons (i.e. 7) gives half-integral spin. So the total spin of 14N in the proton-electron hypothesis would be half- integral spin and thus 14N would be a fermion system. But the experimental results show that 14N is a boson, i.e. it carries integral spin, which could not be explained in the proton-electron hypothesis. 2. Binding energy: As discussed later in Chapter 8, electron being a lepton cannot take part in strong nuclear interactions. Strong interactions bind the nucleons together in the nucleus. If electrons were present in nucleus, the bound state is caused by Coulomb interaction and the binding energy is of the order of‘where r is the radius of the nucleus and is given by 1.2 * 10715 Al/3 m or 1.2 » al/3 tm (1 fm = 10-15 m). Negative sign means that the system is bound. Thus, (Fine structure constant) 137 and 1.055 x 104 Js and © =3 x 10° mis Thus, 1, L055 x 10 x3 108 B7 12x10 xa IA = 125 and Z = 62, then __ 12x62 123" =-15 MeV The de Broglie wavelength of the electrons having energy = 15 MeV would be h_ ch eg Here cp ~ E is the energy of the electron in the nucleus gw 3210" 1.085310" 15x L6x 10% 13x10 m 15 im This value is much greater than the size of the nucleus. Hence, electrons cannot exist inside the nucleus as bound electrons. 3. Nuclear magnetic moment: Magnetic moment of an electron is one Bohr magneton ("%='2.). while that of a proton is one nuclear magneton m, = ch 2». Thus, mg ~" 1850 * my, where my/me ~ 1850. If the nucleus consisted of protons and electrons, the nuclear magnetic moment should be of the orderof mg while experimentally nuclear magnetic moment is of the order of my. Thus, electrons do not exist inside the nucleus. 4. Beta decay: As discussed later, b-decay is a three-body process and not a two-body process. The electrons emitted in proton-electron hypothesis would have a line spectrum, ie. all electrons carry same energy, while in actual b-decay, b-energy varies continuously. This means that in b-decay, b-particles are accompanied by a third particle. This contradicts proton— electron hypothesis. 1.3.2 Proton-Neutron Hypothesis After the discovery of neutrons by Chadwick in 1932 through research on transmutation of nuclei by a-particles, Heisenberg had earlier proposed that nuclei might be composed of protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons. The neutron carries mass slightly greater than that of the proton, but is electrically neutral. Due to no charge, neutron was hard to detect and several unsuccessful efforts were made before it was finally observed in 1932. Thus, 2 nucleus contains 8 protons and 16 — 8 = 8 neutrons. = nucleus is surrounded by 8 electrons to balance the nuclear charge. In general, ’* nucleus will contain Z protons and (A — Z) neutrons. To balance the nuclear charge it will be surrounded by Z electrons. This model obviously avoids the failures of proton-electron hypothesis. Following facts support the proton—neutron hypothesis: 1. Spin: Both protons and neutrons have spin quantum number 1/2. According to quantum mechanics, if the number of nucleons in a nucleus is even, the resultant spin will be an integral multiple of #. And when the number of nucleons in the nucleus is odd, the spin will be half integral multiple of *. This observation is in agreement with the experimental observations without any exception. 2. Magnetic moment: According to proton—neutron hypothesis, there are no electrons inside the nucleus. Hence, we do not expect the magnetic moment of the nucleus to be of the order of Bohr magneton. On the other hand, the nuclear magnetic moment is of the order of nuclear magneton. This is in agreement with the experimental values. 3. Finite size: Since the mass of neutron is approximately equal to the mass of proton, it is possible for the neutron to reside inside the nucleus, accordingto the uncertainty principle. 4. Wave mechanical considerations: According to the uncertainty principle *x*p* h(Ll) where ~ x and ~* p are the uncertainties in the position and momentum of proton/neutron respectively. Radius of a typical nucleus of mass ~ 200 is of the order of 0.6 * 10714 m, the uncertainty in position will be * x = 2R = 1.2% 10714 m. Therefore, uncertainty in momentum ~ (Lajas p is given by Eq. h pw PAR = 06x10 TTS <5 10-5 sim 12x10 m Let us estimate the energy E of a nucleon in the nucleus using the relativistic relation Bape tm 5x 10°F (3 x 108) + (1.67 x 10777 (3 x 108) 29 x 10 which gives 1x 10" J = 945 Mev This value is slightly greater than the rest mass energy of proton, which is about 938 MeV. Hence, the kinetic energy of neutron or proton in the nucleus is of the order of few MeV (i.e. 945 — 938 —! 7 MeV) and it should be possible for a free proton or neutron to be confined in the nucleus. 5. Isotopic masses: It is possible to explain the existence of isotopes of different elements. Different isotopes of an element have same number of protons but different number of neutrons in the nucleus. 6. Beta decay: The process of b~-decay can be explained by the fact that a free neutron is transformed into a proton as follows: naptp+T The process of b*-decay can be explained by conversion of a proton into aneutron as given by pt ntbttn In the above decays n and ¥ are neutrino and antineutrino respectively. 1.3.3 Terms Associated with the Nucleus Atomic Number (Z) It is the number of protons present in the nucleus. For example, nitrogen has 7 protons, so Z for nitrogen is 7, Z for uranium is 92 and for hydrogen, Z is 1. Mass Number (A) It is the total number of protons and neutrons present in the nucleus. For example, carbon has 6 protons and 6 neutrons in its nucleus, so its mass number is 12; uranium has 92 protons and 143 neutrons, therefore, mass number of uranium is 235, ordinary hydrogen has only 1 proton in its nucleus, so its mass number is 1. It is obvious that A can never be less than Z. Neutron Number (N) It is the total number of neutrons present in the nucleus and is equal to A — Z. A nucleus X with atomic number Z, mass number A and neutron number N is represented as “+ for example uranium with Z = 92, A = 235 and N = 143 is ay, writtenas ?“"*, Isotopes Nuclei of an element having the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called isotopes of the element. There are two types of isotopes: (i) stable and (ii) radioactive. Stable isotopes are those which do not show radioactivity, for example, !4N and !5N. Some radioactive isotopes are 4K, 60Co, ete. Isotones Nuclei having same N and different Z are known as isotones. The stable isotones with N= 1 are 2)Hy and 39He}. NucleonsThe term nucleons refers to protons or neutrons present inside the nucleus. Thus, the nucleus with mass number A having N neutrons and Z protons has A nucleons. 1.4 QUANTITATIVE FACTS ABOUT NUCLEUS Here, we introduce some facts such as size, mass, density of the nucleus and charge on the nucleus. Also the energy units commonly used in nuclear physics are discussed. 1.4.1 Size First estimates of nuclear size were made by Rutherford. According to him, a- particles with a given kinetic energy can come closer to the nucleus till they feel a force of repulsion. The kinetic energy is converted into Coulomb potential energy. Thus, kinetic energy gets reduced and potential energy continues to increase. At a certain distance d, the kinetic energy becomes zero and potential energy becomes maximum. After this the a-particle turns back and kinetic energy starts increasing and potential energy starts decreasing. The point where Kinetic energy is zero is known as distance of closest approach and it is denoted by letter d and it provides a rough estimate of the nuclear size. It is well known that in a head-on collision, the minimum distance between the projectile and the target nucleus is equal to the sum of the radii of the projectile and the target nucleus. As whole of kinetic energy gets converted into potential energy at a distance d, so the balancing equation of the kinetic energy and the potential energy is 2ZZ'e? 4ne mo a= (2) where m is the mass, v is the velocity and Ze is the charge of a-particle. [Link] is the charge of the target nucleus and d is the distance of the closest approach. The physical meaning of d is shown in Figure 1.2. = d —+(Nuciens, Figure 1.2 Particles being back-scattered from the nucleus, dis the distance of closed approach,Velocity of a-particles from radon is about 1.6 * 107 mys. The mass of a- particle is 4 times the hydrogen mass, ie. 4* 1.67 * 10-27 kg. Zis 2 and Ze is 79 for gold. e is 1.6 * 10-19 C. The resultant value of d [from Eq. (1.2)] is 4.26 * 10714 m, By increasing the velocity of the a-particles one could go up to the minimum distance d equal to 3.2 * 10-14 m for gold. For scattering of a-particles from copper nuclei the value of d is approximately 1.2 * 10-14 m. The value of d is larger for the case of gold compared to copper. This is evident from Eq. (1.2) as d increases with Zi, the atomic number of the target. In case of gold because of higher Zi, d is larger compared to that of copper. It has been observed that size of the nuclei depends upon A. Presently, the accepted nuclear radius formula is a3) where (ay 1fm= 10'S m Formula (1.3) is an empirical formula. Its derivation is not based on any theory but purely on experimental facts. 1.4.2 Mass Nuclear masses are comparatively much smaller as compared to that of physically occurring objects. Therefore, it is generally expressed in terms of a new unit called Atomic Mass Unit (amu). To estimate the nuclear masses we use the Avogadro’s hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, a mole of a substance is that amount which has mass in grams equal to its atomic weight. For example, 1 mole of 12 has 12 g. So, 1 mole of !2¢ contains Nq = 6.02214199 * 1023 atoms of 12¢, Thus, the weight of 1 atom of !2C is 12 6.02214199x 10 = 1.992646 x 10 = 1.992646 x 10 kgFor the sake of simplicity, the weight of !2C atom/12 is defined as 1 Atomic Mass Unit or in short 1 amu. Thus, 1.992646 x 10? 1 amu =~ 12 1.660538 x 10% g 1.660538 x 1077 kg. Therefore, «sy Thus, weight of 1 atom of !2¢ is 12 amu. This is taken as standard for all the atomic weight measurements. In this unit, proton and neutron masses are given by Mass of proton = 1.0072764668 amu = 1.67262 x 10” kg (1.6) Mass of neutron = 1.0086649157 amu = 1.674964 x10” kg (7) For comparison mass of an electron in this unit Mass of electron = 0.000549 amu = 9.109 * 10-31 kg 1.4.3 Density Density of a substance is defined as mass per unit volume. ‘We calculate nuclear densities for two specific cases, ie. 12C and 197 Au,Mass of "?C = 1.992646 x 10 kg. Radius R of °C = ro! = 12x 10 x 12"9 m = 2.7473 x 10-5 m Volume of "¢ = tak’ = 8.6859 x 10-4 m> = 1.992646 107% y of ‘Therefore, density of BC = = 2.294 « 10!” ky/m? Mass of '°7Au = 3.2707 x 1075 kg Radius of '7Au = rg" 1.2 x 10° 197" = 6.9824 x 10" m Volume of 7Au = tae = 1.4259 x 10-2 m3 3.2707 x10 kg ‘Therefore, density of !7Au = =" “8 . 1.425910 m: = 2.294 x 10" kg/m? Thus we observe that the nuclear densities are the same for carbon and gold. Or the nuclear density is constant and is of the order of 107 kg/m. The nuclear density is extremely large. It is comparable to the density of neutron star. In comparison to these nuclear densities, the density of carbon atom is 2.26 * 103 kg/m? and that of gold atom is 1.92 * 104 kg/m. Thus, nuclear densities are larger than atomic density by an order of 1014, Such a high density can be visualized by the following example. If we take 150 million cubic metres of water and compress it to 10-6 m3 (or 1c), we get value of density, which is of the order of nuclear density. The nuclear density is independent of the mass number A. It can be explained as under: Mass of nucleus with A nucleons = A * mkg where m is the mass of one nucleon.4 Volume of a nucleus with A nucleons = aa Therefore, density = ve Substituting for m and rq, we get Nuclear density = 2.294 x 10" kg/m? 1.4.4 Energy (1.8) In nuclear physics, the unit of energy is taken to be electron volt (eV). The larger units of energy are keV and MeV. However, the SI unit of energy is joule. But SI unit of energy is not used in nuclear physics. Electron volt (eV) is defined as the energy acquired by an electron, when it is accelerated through a potential difference of one volt. Relation between eV and Joule 1 electron volt (1eV) = charge on 1 electron * 1 volt = 1.6027 10°!9¢ * 1v=1.602% 107195 ie. eV =1,602 x 10 Therefore, TkeV — 1.602 x1 MeV 602 x1 In Table 1.1, commonly encountered energies are shown. ‘TABLE 1.1 Commonly encountered energies ‘Room temperature thermal energy of a molecule 0025 eV Visible light photons 15-35eV Tonization energy of atomic hydrogen 136 eV Approximate energy of an electron striking 20,000 eV (= 20 keV) colour television screen High energy diagnostic medical X-ray photons 2,00,000 eV (= 0.2 MeV) grlecay 0-3 Mev bedecay 03 Mev adecay 2-10 MeV. Cosmic-ray energies | MeV-1000 TeV (1.9) 10) aayThese energy units are related to amu through mass-energy relation E = mc2 as under. Using this relation, the value of 1 amu in terms of energy is 1 amu = 1.660538 x 107 x (2.9979 x 108? 1.49239 x 1071 J Lamu = 1.49239 x I (2) Tamu = 93147 MeV (1.13) 1.4.5 Charge Rutherford as a result of a-particle scattering experiments concluded that all the positive charge on an atom is confined to a tiny central region called nucleus. Later on from a-particle and X-ray scattering from the atoms, it was found that the number of unit charges on the nucleus of any atom is approximately half of its atomic weight. Rutherford also concluded that proton was identical with a hydrogen ion (electron removed) that carried a single unit positive charge. Since hydrogen atom is neutral, so the charge on proton must be equal to that of electron, but of opposite sign. Similarly, a-particle is actually a helium nucleus, that is a helium atom minus its two electrons. Therefore, helium nucleus carries positive charge equal to 2e, where e is the charge present on one electron. Thus, the charge on a nucleus carrying Z protons is Ze units. 1.5 BINDING ENERGY Here we define various terms such as mass defect, packing fraction, nuclear binding energy and binding energy per nucleon. Also packing fraction has been plotted versus A and is known as packing fraction curve. Fission and fusion have been discussed on the basis of this curve. 1.5.1 Mass Defect Mass of the atom is concentrated in the nucleus, which is at the centre of the atom. As discussed earlier, nucleus is constituted by neutrons and protons. It has been observed that the mass of the nucleus is always less than the sum of the masses of all nucleons present in the nucleus. The difference in the sum of masses of all the nucleons present in the nucleus and the nuclear mass is known as the mass defect (~ m). If Mxe(Z, N) is the mass of the bare nucleus consisting of Z protons and Nneutrons, the mass defect * m is given as Am = ZMy + NM, —_M'(Z, N) or ‘Am=ZM, +(A-Z)M, — M'(Z.N) 14) It is convenient to introduce the mass of Z atomic electrons into the right-hand side of this equation, so that it becomes ‘Am =ZMy + (A~ 2M, — M(Z,N) (1.15) In this equation Myy and M(Z, N) are the masses of neutral hydrogen and the nucleus under investigation. Let us calculate the mass defect of deuterium 21H. It has one proton and one neutron in its nucleus. Thus, we would expect that the mass of deuterium to be there equal to the mass of one neutron plus mass of ordinary hydrogen atom. Mass of ! 1H atom = 1.007825 amu Mass of neutron = 1.008665 amu. Therefore, expected mass of deuterium = 2.016490 amu The measured mass of 21H is found to be 2.014102 amu. The mass difference in these masses is 0.002388 amu. Therefore, in deuterium mass defect is 0.002388 amu. This missing mass may be regarded as the mass, which would be converted into energy, if a particular atom is to be formed from the requisite number of electrons, protons and neutrons. This is also equal to the amount of energy required to break up the atom into its constituents. Therefore, mass defect is a measure of binding energy of an atom. More the mass defect, more tightly the nucleons are bound in the nucleus. 1.5.2 Packing Fraction Mass defect does not convey much information about nuclear stability, and it is misleading to say that higher the mass defect, more tightly bound nucleons exist in the nucleus. For example, mass defect for 4gHe is 0.002604 amu (= 2.4249 MeV), while that for 235g9U it is 0.04396 amu (= 40.930 MeV). But 49He is much more stable than 23595U. The term packing fraction was introduced by Aston in 1926 which gives better information aboutthe nuclear stability. Packing fraction is defined as Packing fraction = Atomic mass — Mass number (16) : Mass number pit _ Mass defect or A A (1.17) The smaller the value of packing fraction the more stable is the nucleus and vice versa. A plot of packing fraction f versus mass number A is shown in Figure 1.3, from which we can draw the following conclusions: 1. For very light nuclei, like 21H, 34H, etc. packing fraction is very large, hence nucleons in these nuclei are loosely bound. In fact, out of all known stable nuclei, nucleons in 21H are most loosely bound. 2. As mass number A increases (up to A = 16), the packing fraction goes on decreasing till it becomes zero for A = 16, i.e., for !®g0 nucleus. 3. As A further increases, for nuclei with 16 < A < 180, packing fraction becomes negative. The nucleons in these nuclei are strongly bound in the nucleus. There is a flat minimum for 60 < A < 80. Negative packing fraction also means that in order to break these nuclei into the constituents, we must supply external energy. 4. Beyond A > 180, packing fraction again is positive. Thus, most of the nuclei with A> 235 are unstable.8.0% 103 4 Packing fraction f 00 0 100 200 300 ‘Mass number 4 Figure 1.3 Packing fraction f versus mass number A 1.5.3 Fusion and Fission The phenomena of fusion and fission can also be explained on the basis of the packing fraction curve. It can be stated that each nucleus tries to reduce its packing fraction. If two light nuclei are fused together to form heavier nucleus, like 21H +3,H* 45He +n + energy The packing fraction of heavier nucleus is less compared to that of the lighter nuclei. So in lighter nuclei, fusion is possible. Similarly, if a heavy nucleus breaks into two lighter nuclei, like 2359 U + lon © Ma¢kr + 44eepa + Ign 22yaCF* 106, Nb + 142eoLa+4Ign The packing fraction of lighter nuclei is small compared to the heavier nuclei. So in heavy nuclei, fission is possible. 1.5.4 Binding Energy per Nucleon To form an atom from requisite number of electrons, protons and neutrons, someamount of energy is required. The energy comes from the mass defect. The energy that keeps the nucleons together in a bound state is known as the binding energy of the nucleus. It can be calculated as: The mass of constituent particles of an atom 47X is sum of masses of Z protons, A - Z neutrons and Z electrons. Masses of one proton and one electron can be written as mass of one hydrogen atom (Mjj). So masses of Z protons and Z electrons can be written as ZMy. Therefore, the binding energy of 4zX with mass M(A, Z) is given as BE=[ZMy +(A-Z)M, -M(A, Z)) (1.18) In driving this equation, we have neglected binding energies of the electrons in an atom, as these energies are comparatively very small. This binding energy is in amu. For converting it into MeV, we use the fact that 1 amu = 931.47 MeV. So, binding energy BE in MeV is BE =(ZMy + (A Z)M, ~ M(A,Z)]x 93147 MeV (1.19) Now binding energy per nucleon is given as BE [Mat (4-9): MeVinucleon (1.20) A Binding energy per nucleon versus mass number A has been plotted in Figure 1.4, from which the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. Barring few exceptions, like 4He, 12c, 180, etc., the values of binding energy per nucleon lie on a smooth curve.3. 5. See 6 3 : ba 2 a 2 a 2 0 o Ey Tay 55098 Mass number A Figure 1.4 Binding energy per nucleon (in units of MeV) versus mass number A. . When mass number is small, ie. A < 12 the binding energy per nucleon is less and it rises rapidly with increasing A. . Around A = 50, there is a flat maximum, where binding energy per nucleon is approximately 8.8 MeV. It slowly drops down to 8.4 MeV at A = 140. The average value of binding energy per nucleon between A = 50 and A = 140 is close to 8.5 MeV. . Above A = 140, binding energy per nucleon starts decreasing and at A = 238, its value is 7.6 MeV. It further reduces as A increases. . There are sharp peaks for *He-i8e.0°C.:"0. etc, nuclei. This indicates that these nuclei are more stable than the neighbouring nuclei. If we take two lighter nuclei (say '' binding energy ~ 1.1 MeV/n) and fuse them together to form *"* (binding energy ~ 7 MeV/n), there is a gain in binding energy. This indicates that fusion of lighter nuclei is energetically feasible. . If we take a heavy nucleus say A = 240 (binding energy ~ 7.6 MeV/n) and break it into two lighter nuclei of A ~ 120 (binding energy ~ 8.2 MeV/n),again there is a net gain in binding energy. Therefore, fission of heavy nuclei is again energetically feasible. It is left as an exercise to show that fusion of heavy nuclei is not feasible. 1.6 NUCLEAR ANGULAR MOMENTUM Total angular momentum of the nucleus taken about its own axis, is easily measurable. But we cannot say much about the individual contributions of protons and neutrons, as their motion is very complex. One may attempt to build a vector model of the individual particles, which is similar to the vector model of the atom. To visualize the vector model, let us discuss the quantum numbers associated with the individual nucleons. The state of particular nucleon is described by its wave function, i.e. solution of its wave equation, which is characterized in terms of quantum numbers: Principal Quantum Number (n) Each bound particle is associated with principle quantum number n, which can take only positive integral values, n = 1, 2, 3, .... In Coulomb field, first-order term for the total energy of the state is characterized by n, i.e. radial quantum number (Higher order terms include contributions from fine and hyperfine structures). This is not true in non-Coulomb fields such as rectangular potentials, Yukawa potentials, etc., in which nuclear particles are bound. In such potentials, the principal quantum number is a sum of radial (n) and orbital (+4) quantum numbers, ie.n=n+*. Orbital Quantum Number (++) Orbital angular momentum quantum number (-+) can take on positive integral values, i.e. 0, 1, 2, ... (n— 1). The magnitude of orbital angular momentum is (C+D Various states are respectively designated as s, p, d, f, g, hy - corresponding to ~ ot : Orbital Magnetic Quantum Number (m_1) Orbital magnetic quantum number is the component of ++ in the specified direction such as that of an applied magnetic field. It can take (2+ + 1) possible values starting from —») to ++ differing by unity. Spin Quantum Number (s) Spin quantum number (s) has value 1/2 for proton, neutron and electron, whichfollows from Fermi-Dirac statistics and thereby obey the Pauli exclusion principle. The magnitude of spin angular momentum is ¥° +)? Magnetic Spin Quantum Number (ms) Magnetic spin quantum number is the component of s in the specified direction say that of the applied magnetic field. It can take 2s + 1 values from -s to +s. For particles with s = 1/2, mg = 1/2 and -1/2. Total Angular Momentum Quantum Number (4) Itis the vector sum of the orbital (2) and spin (¥) angular momenta, i.e. / = @ + The magnitude of the total angular momentum is V// +)? 1/2, only two values of j are permitted as j = -* + 1/2 and = 0, only one value of j is allowed as j = 1/2. For particles with ot 1/2. If ++ Radial Quantum Number (n) As stated earlier, in a non-Coulomb field, the principle quantum number n does not represent the energy of the state. In the radial wave equation solution, a radial quantum number n arises. n represents the number of radial nodes in the wave function and can have values n = 1, 2, 3, Total Angular Momentum It is the vector sum of the individual angular momenta of the constituent nucleons and is represented by J or I. It is also called nuclear spin and its magnitude is given by V/V +)". The value of J can be calculated in two different ways depending upon the type of coupling between angular momenta of the nucleons. The two types of coupling are: (i) L-S coupling. (ii) jj coupling. (i) L-S coupling: In this there is negligibly weak coupling between the orbital and spin angular momenta of the individual nucleons. Orbital angular momenta of all the nucleons couple together to give a resultant total angular momentum L. Similarly, the spin angular momenta of all the nucleons couple together to give resultant total spin angular momentum S. £=>%and -Da Then the resultant L and S couple strongly to give the total nuclear spin J, ie. J =L+S. (ii) }J coupling: In this scheme orbital (-*;) and spin (sj) angular momenta of individual nucleons couple together to give resultant angular momentum Gi), or ha +5, The different values of j, couple together to give nuclear spin J F-Sii Value of J for nuclei having even number of protons and even number of neutrons is always zero, For nuclei having odd Z and even N or even Z and odd N have half integer nuclear spin (J). All odd Z and odd N nuclei have integral spin (J). 1.7 NUCLEAR MOMENTS In this section, we discuss magnetic dipole moment of the nucleus, Bohr magneton, nuclear magneton and spin g-factor. An expression for electric quadrupole moment, which arises due to non-spherical charge distribution in the nucleus, has been derived. Prolate and oblate shapes of the nuclei have been discussed. 1.7.1 Magnetic Dipole Moment Magnetic dipole moment of the nucleus arises due to the motion of charged particles. Orbital and spin angular momenta of protons produce magnetic field within the nucleus. This field can be described in terms of resultant magnetic dipole moment located at the centre of the nucleus. Particle having a charge q and mass m circulates with speed v in a circular orbit of radius r. If it has a time period ¢, then the current i associated with the charge q is(21) Now fcan be calculated as under Substituting this value of ¢ Now magnetic dipole moment m for current i around an area of the loop A is given as m=i* A A=pr2 Substituting the values of i and A, we have Ly? 0 nr _ gor » 2 (1.22) Considering the case of a single electron atom and taking q to be electronic charge e and multiplying and dividing the above equation by electron mass m, we have _ enor 2m Since mor is the orbital angular momentum, so 1 is written as a 2m (1.23) (1.24) where +} = mvr. Since ++ and m are vector quantities, so in vector notation, the above equation is e i = 1.25) arn (1.25) However, in general, Eq. (1.25) is modified for total angular momentum od = 1.26 Ha Te (1.26) where g is a factor called gyromagnetic ratio or g-factor.J hiso,— As stated earlier, J has the units of ’ is dimensionless. Using this fact, Eq. (1.26) can be written as J M= Blo (1.27) where _ oh 2m Ho The constant mg is called Bohr magneton and is taken as the unit to measure magnetic moments for atoms ch = 1.28 up me (1.28) Substituting various constants, we get _ L602 x 10°? Cx 10546 x10 Js 2% 9.109 10 7! kg Hs = 9.27 x 10 * Jhesla For nuclei, we define magnetic moments in terms of the nuclear magneton my, which is defined a y= 29) 2m, is the mass of proton, Substituting various constants, we get 1.602 x 10°" Cx 1.0546 x 10™ Js 2x 167x 10 = 5.058 x 1077 Iitesla which is smaller by a factor ”» than the Bohr magneton. Equation (1.25) tells us that /”* ': However, the nucleus has neutrons and protons. They possess spin angular momentum in addition to orbital angular momentum. This spin gives an addition contribution to total magnetic moment of the nucleus. The spin angular momentum contribution is written as= BX 5X tly (1.30) where gg is known as spin g-factor. Its value for proton is 5.586 and for neutron it is —3.826. Orbital angular momentum contribution to magnetic moment appears only from the protons, thus in Eq. (1.26) g = 1 for protons and g = 0 for neutrons. Total nuclear magnetic dipole moment for the nucleus m is then given by 4 z 4 wm get sri} Bee =Hylesd +60) = gly J (31 where g is the gyromagnetic ratio of the nucleus, and 7=/ +5: Magnetic dipole moment of odd Z and even N or even Z and odd N nuclei is due to unpaired single nucleon. 1.7.2 Electric Quadrupole Moment This property arises due to non-spherical charge distribution in the nucleus. It is worthnoting that for a nucleus of spherical shape, neither dipole moment exists nor quadrupole moment exists because centre of mass of the nucleus coincides with centre of charge of the nucleus. In non-spherical nuclei, assume that centre of mass is at the origin of the nucleus and centre of charge is not at the origin. The potential at any point P situated outside the nucleus at a distance r from the origin is given by v= 132 > tne, FF (132) where charge e is located at a distance r.e from the origin. Now, Iriel = [72 + (te)? = 2rr ve cos ql!/? where q is the angle between ” "47". as shown in Figure 1.5. Substituting |r — ry in Eq. (1.32), we get1 e Ane g [r* + (x)? — 2x’ cos! e wy 2) re (= == eos] (1.33) x Figure 1.5 Non-spherical charge distribution. The nuclear charge ¢ is located at a distance rq from the origin and the potential at point P outside the nucleus at a distance r, from the origin. Since rsg is much smaller than r, we can carry out a binomial expansion in Eq. (1.33) and obtain n? (us OF cos Poor 2 os0+(“J (Bente!) IW 2 y 5 +(5) (Foor o-Fcon0) +... IQ 2 Substituting this expansion in Eq, (1.33), we have nz ay es cos'=(“) ($osra-2)+(2) (Geosta— Foon) 4neyr| r)\2 WG) 2 é mH oye a2 conor OX (Feosto-3) +. (134) 4meyr Ane or 4megr \2 2 In this equation, the first term on the right-hand side represents the contribution to potential from single charge, the second term represents the contribution due to a dipole, whose electric dipole moment is er ve COS q and the third term represents the contribution due to electric quadrupole whosequadrupole moment Q is given as ew (5 cos? e-5) If Q > 0, then nucleus is prolate in shape, as shown in Figure 1.6. In prolate shape, when two out of three principal axes are equal and the third (unequal) axis is longer than the other two axes, the nucleus will have a shape like that of a fully inflated football. More extreme examples of prolate shapes are cigar or a hot dog. Figure 1.6 Prolate shape of the nucleus. If Q <0, then nucleus is oblate in shape, as shown in Figure 1.7. When two out of three principal axes are equal and the third (unequal) axis is shorter than the other two axes, the nucleus will have a shape like that of a pumpkin. More extreme examples of oblate shapes are burger or discus. Q = 0 represents spherical shape. Figure 1.7 Oblate shape of the nucleus. 1.8 WAVE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES Efforts were made to construct a theoretical model of the nucleus on the basis of classical physics, but they all failed. It was finally realized that classical physics (Newtonian mechanics, Maxwell theory of electromagnetism) can not explain atomic and subatomic phenomena. For instance, classical electromagnetic theory, where electron, being a charged particle should radiate energy whilemoving around the nucleus, which would eventually collapse in the atom. Similarly, classical physics failed to explain other phenomena, like black body radiations, photoelectric effect, atomic spectra, Compton effect, etc. Initially, semiclassical-semiquantum ideas like Bohr atomic model, were developed, which could only pave the way to develop full quantum theory in two forms called wave mechanical (1927) and matrix mechanics (1925). The fundamental idea of wave mechanics is based on the wave nature of matter. The dual wave and particle nature of matter is expressed by means of a wave function, which satisfies the following equation, first developed by Schrédinger Vey (E-Vyy=0 (1.35) 2m e where E and m represent energy and mass of the particle moving in a potential V(@). This equation successfully explained various features of atomic structure, and also introduced new concepts like parity and statistics in quantum physics. All micro-systems, also called quantum systems are expected to satisfy Schrédinger equation or some kind of wave mechanical equation. Nucleus containing nucleons is one such example, though potential experienced by nucleons within the nucleus, could be more complicated than the Coulomb potential, which worked well for the atomic spectra. In general, any quantum system is always associated with a wave function, which depends on space-time coordinates (x, y, Z, t). Generally, y is a complex quantity but yy* is always real. The wave function has two important properties: 1. Parity 2. Statistics 1.8.1 Parity Under reflection, also called space-inversion, through origin x will change to -x, y to -y and z to -z. If the new wave function y(-x, -y, -z) is identical to y(x, y, z), then we say that the wave function has even parity. But, if the new wave function is related to old wave function with a change of sign, i.e. y(-x, -y, -z) = -y(x, y, 2), then the wave function has odd parity. Alternatively, this can be represented as Py% Ys D=VCX% YZ)Applying parity operator once more P2y(x, y, 2) = Py(-x, -¥, -2) = y(% ¥, 2) (1-36) Thus, pe= ie. =* 1(1.37) where P, the parity operator has values +1 or -1. The parity is a quantum concept and it does not have any classical analogue. In hydrogen-like system, P = (-1)~*, where > is the orbital quantum number. Depending upon -+, P has the value +1 or—1. A system having even number of odd parity particles has even parity and a system having odd number of odd parity particles has odd parity. Because parity of the system is the product of individual parities. Except for weak interactions, discussed in Chapter 8, parity is always conserved in a nuclear transformation, e.g. if a even parity excited nuclear state decays by g-emission, then the product of parities of g-ray and the daughter nucleus must be even. Similarly, in a-decay if the parent nucleus has even parity, then the product of parities of the daughter nucleus and the a-particle must be even. 1.8.2 Statistics The concept of statistics is related to the behaviour of large number of particles. For instance, Maxwell—Boltzmann statistics works well in the classical physics, while describing the distribution of energy among the molecules of a gas. However, in quantum physics, two new forms of statistics have been developed which are the Bose-Einstein statistics and the Fermi-Dirac statistics. These statistics reflect in the behaviour of wave function describing systems of identical particles under their interchange. Bose-Einstein Statistics If the particles have integral spins, i.e. 0, 1, 2, ... , they are known as Bosons, e.g. photons, pions, etc. The wave function of the system consisting of Bosons is symmetric when we interchange any two identical Bosons, i.e. y(x1, x2) = y(x2, x1). Similar results can be written for more than two particles. Fermi-Dirac StatisticsThe particles having half integral spins are known as Fermions. Examples are protons, neutrons, etc. All Fermions obey Pauli’s exclusion principle. The wave function of a Fermions system is antisymmetric under interchange of two identical particles, i.e. y(xy, x2) = —y(x2, x1)- 1.9 NATURE OF NUCLEAR FORCES The forces known in the beginning of the twentieth century—gravitational and electromagnetic Coulomb forces could not account for the stability of the nucleus. Protons carry positive charge and neutrons are neutral particles. The electrostatic force will be repulsive between two protons. So, this force will cause the nucleus to break and thus it cannot account for the binding of the nucleus. The gravitational force of attraction between two nucleons is extremely weak, it also cannot explain the binding energy of the nucleus. This force is significant only on the macroscopic scale, such as for astronomical objects. The small size of the nucleus (~ a few fermi) and its great stability shows that the forces operating among the nucleons are short-range forces, i.e. they are effective over very short distances only (~ few fermi). This short-range character distinguishes the nuclear forces from gravitational and electromagnetic forces, which act over large distances. If the forces operating among the nucleons were long range, there would be interactions among distant nucleons in the nucleus, as well as between those in close proximity; the total binding energy would increase roughly as A2. However, the actual binding energy is approximately proportional to A. This characteristics of the forces is called saturation property. Each nucleon attracts those in its immediate vicinity, but is relatively indifferent to the others. This new force, called nuclear force was introduced to account for the stability of the nucleus. This force was assumed to be much stronger than the repulsive Coulomb force between two protons. This force is attractive between 2 protons, 2 neutrons or 1 proton and 1 neutron. Later on, these nuclear forces were found to be highly complex. Some important characteristics of nuclear forces are: Nuclear Forces are Charge-Independent The force between nn is same as that between p-p and between n-p. This is termed as charge-independence of nuclear forces. This is clear from the formation of mirror nuclei. For example, 31H and 3yHe are mirror nuclei. The former contains 1 proton and 2 neutrons, while the later contains 2 protons and 1neutron. The binding energy of 31H is 8.5 MeV and that of 3yHe is 7.7 MeV. The three types of forces (n-n, p-p, n-p) are equal in magnitude, the difference of 0.8 MeV in 31H and 3yHe is due to repulsive Coulomb energy between proton— proton in 39He nuclide. Nuclear Forces are Very Strong in Nature They are much stronger than electromagnetic and gravitational forces. They are stronger by a factor of 137 from the electromagnetic force and are stronger by a factor of 104° from gravitational forces. Nuclear Forces have Short Range Nuclear forces are short-range forces and the range is of the order of nuclear dimensions. If the range of the nuclear forces is larger than the dimensions of the nucleus, they would have definitely affected molecular interactions, but no such effect has ever been observed in molecular structure. Nuclear Forces are Repulsive at Very Short Distances (~0.5 fm) If this was not so, the nucleons inside the nucleus would collapse to the size of nuclear force range. Nuclear Forces are Saturated The range of nuclear forces is limited. Saturation of nuclear forces implies that their interaction is only with the nearest neighbours. The effect of saturation property of nuclear forces is that the binding energy is proportional to A. Nuclear Forces are Non-Central Electrostatic and gravitational forces are central forces, i.e. these forces act along the line joining the two particles while nuclear forces depend not only on the distance between the nucleons, but also on the angle that their spins make with the line joining the two nucleons. Nuclear Forces are Spin and Angular Momentum-Dependent Two nucleons having parallel spin have stronger force between them than those having anti-parallel spin. This force depends on the angles between the spin and orbital angular momentum vectors. Nuclear Forces are Velocity-DependentNuclear forces depend upon the velocity of the nucleons. Nuclear Forces are Exchange Forces It means that the force is produced by exchange of force carrier. It is described in detail in the next section.