NUCLEAR AND SUBNUCLEAR GEOPHYSICS
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- FABIO MANTOVANI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- FIS/04
Training objectives
- The purpose of this course is to critically discuss the recent advances in the probing of Earth’s interior using knowledge acquired through nuclear and subnuclear physics. Traditionally, the investigation of the Earth physical properties has been based on seismic, gravimetric, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and remote sensing techniques. The formidable progress achieved in the knowledge and techniques of nuclear and subnuclear particles detection have made it possible to approach the understanding of the structure, composition, and geodynamic evolution of our planet with innovative and complementary methods.
The knowledge acquired by the student concerns the exploration of the Earth through classical geophysical methods and focuses on nuclear and subnuclear methodologies. From the basics of geophysics, the lessons are divided into a series of in-depth studies focused on recent research in the field of cosmic rays and neutrinos. The course provides information on the structure and thermal evolution of the Earth, on the properties of neutrons and radioactive noble gases, on cosmic rays, on neutrinos of cosmic origin and on antineutrinos of terrestrial origin.
The student is required to develop skills in the critical study of recent scientific reviews, applying this knowledge to understand the experimental techniques used so far and in the future. The course also stimulates the ability to solve problems relating to nuclear decays, radiochemistry, geochronology, energetics, estimating the flux of cosmic rays and neutrinos, as well as the attenuation effects of elementary particles crossing the Earth. Prerequisites
- Basic notions of statistics, differential and integral calculus are required, as well as fundamentals of chemistry and nuclear physics, with particular reference to radioactive decay processes. The mathematical treatment of the topics is such as to be understandable to master's degree students in physics, engineering, and earth sciences.
Course programme
- This course comprises 54 hours of frontal teaching between lectures and exercises, and is divided in four sections.
SECTION 1 - FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS OF THE SOLID EARTH (12 h)
• The planet Earth: geodynamics and plate tectonics
• Seismology
• Gravimetry
• Composition of the Earth and Bulk Silicate Earth models
• Terrestrial heat power
• The structure of the Earth
SECTION 2 - PROBING THE EARTH WITH NEUTRONS AND NOBLE RADIOACTIVE GASES (12 h)
• Properties of neutrons and radioactive noble gases
• Flux of terrestrial and cosmic ray neutrons
• Cosmic ray neutrons for investigating soil water content
• Nuclear physics techniques for oil exploration
• Natural nuclear reaction and noble gas radioactive isotopes
• Tracer applications of noble gas radionuclides in the geosciences
SECTION 3 – PROBING THE EARTH WITH MUONS (12 h)
• Properties of cosmic ray muons
• Muon detectors
• Muon tomography
• Muography for monitoring volcanoes, underground water basins, and glaciers
SECTION 4 – PROBING THE EARTH WITH NEUTRINOS (18 h)
• Properties of neutrinos
• Earth tomography with neutrinos
• Studying Earth’s density profile with neutrinos
• Water or ice neutrino detectors
• Properties of geoneutrinos
• Terrestrial models for geoneutrinos
• Experiments for measuring geoneutrinos Didactic methods
- The lectures alternate with exercises that the teacher proposes to carry out both individually and through group work in the Laboratory for Nuclear Technologies Applied to the Environment ( https://www.fe.infn.it/radioactivity/ ). About a third of the course is devoted to the critical study of recent scientific publications presenting case studies in which the detection of nuclear and subnuclear particles has contributed to the knowledge of volcanic systems, soil water content, terrestrial radiogenic heat, and the structure and evolution of the Earth.
All the presentations shown during the lessons are collected and sorted in Google Classroom, together with the scientific articles mentioned in the slides.
The lesson timetable is agreed with the teacher at the beginning of the semester and is planned in such a way as to avoid temporal overlaps with other courses. For this reason, please write an e-mail to the teacher (mantovani@fe.infn.it) stating your interest in attending the course about a month before the start of the lessons. Learning assessment procedures
- The objective of the exam is to verify the level of achievement of the previously indicated training objectives. The oral exam is divided into two parts.
• A presentation (about 10 minutes) through which the student showcases a topic that they have explored independently. This showing will provide the opportunity to test the degree of detail and the critical capacity with which the information and bibliographic sources have been chosen.
• An oral interview (about 40 minutes) for not so much asking to repeat the topics covered in class, but for evaluating the competence to connect the knowledge and skills acquired to face problems related to nuclear and subnuclear geophysics. Reference texts
- In addition to the presentations shown during the lessons, the didactic material and the scientific articles uploaded in Google Classroom, for some specific topics reference will be made to the following texts:
• New Theory of the Earth (2nd edition) - Don L. Anderson - California Institute of Technology, 2007.
• Nuclear Geophysics: Applications in Hydrology, Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology, Agriculture and Environmental Science - V.I. Ferronsky – Springer, 2015.
• Cosmic Rays in the Earth's Atmosphere and Underground - L. I. Dorman - Astrophysics and Space Science Library, 2013.
• Geoneutrino Detection - M.C. Chen - Treatise on Geochemistry (2nd edition) Vol. 15, Elsevier Science, 2014.
