Due to covid, this two week school was held both in-person in Oslo and over zoom. This allowed students who could not physically be here to participate in the school. Collaboration, academically and socially, was encouraged as well as participation in the active learning environment and allowing students to begin building their professional network.
Advanced Nuclear Reactions and Applications in Astrophysics is a two week intensive course, introducing the main astrophysical processes for elemental production in the universe. This course is designed to give students, with a background in nuclear physics, an introduction on how nuclear data is used in astrophysics. The underlying principles for the theoretical models for calculating nuclear parameters were covered. In particular, students learnt about the connection between nuclear parameters and their use in astrophysical calculations. This allowed students to gain an understanding of the models and parameters that go into the state-of-the-art nuclear reaction code TALYS. TALYS is a popular tool for numerically analyzing nuclear reactions
About the course
The course was arranged as a school from 23rd of November to the 3rd of December 2021 at the University of Oslo in Norway. Students from Germany, France, South Africa and Norway participated in this hybrid school held both in person at UiO and over zoom due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
As a two week intensive course, the first part of the day was reserved for lectures, including discussions and interaction between the students. This part emphasized student participation and allowed students to get various insights into the topics discussed.
The second half of the day was reserved for students to implement the different models that were covered in the lectures. This involved the students working with the TALYS code, an open source software widely used in the nuclear field for simulating nuclear reactions. Giving the students the chance to deepen the interplay between nuclear physics and astrophysics in both a theoretical and practical sense.
This course provided an environment where questions and collaborations were encouraged.
Lecturers
- S. Siem (Oslo)
- A. C. Larsen (Oslo)
- A. Goergen (Oslo)
- S. Goriely (ULB)
- S. Hilaire (CEA)
- S. Shen (Oslo)
Topics covered
- How elements heavier than iron could be formed in astrophysical environments, especially the s-process, the r-process and the p-process.
- Nuclear reactions models, such as the Hauser-Feshbach formalism, relevant to nuclear astrophysics were discussed.
- The nuclear structure and nuclear reaction ingredients needed for nuclear astrophysical calculations.
- Calculations of nuclear cross-sections e.g. neutron capture cross-sections.
- An introduction to fission and fission reactions and products.
- Experimental nuclear physics methods and techniques used for measuring nuclear properties for nuclear astrophysical processes.
- Hands-on training in running the state-of-of-the-art reaction code TALYS using both experimental and theoretical level densities and gamma strength functions as inputs.
Testimonials
“The TALYS course in November/December 2021 focused on nuclear physics applications in astrophysics. It was very interesting to see such an overlap between seemingly quite different fields of study, and attending lectures on nuclear astrophysics by world-leading experts who specialize in both was very rewarding. We also got first-hand experience with cross section calculations by using the TALYS software, which gave some insight into how theoretical predictions are made. The course provides an understanding of fundamental principles of nuclear astrophysics, and is quite detailed and in depth despite its brevity, and ultimately serves as an excellent introduction to a highly interesting field.” - R. G. Kjus
"The 2021 INTPART TALYS Oslo school was a great experience for me. The lecturers and TALYS instructors gave very informative classes in an understandable way and were always there to answer questions, which I appreciated having joined in all the way from South Africa." - S. Binda