Physique nucléaire et neutroniqueStructure: comportement non linéaire et physique nucléaire (MRI)

This course aims to provide the basic theoretical knowledge necessary for understanding nuclear energy. In a first part, the course deals with nuclear physics, to present in a second part the basics of neutron in the field of atomic engineering.

1. Background

• What is nuclear physics? What's it for? How it is used

2. Constitution of matter with our modern knowledge.
3. Scales of time, length and fundamental interactions.

• Phenomenology of atomic nuclei
• Comparison of order of magnitude nuclear reaction energy vs chemical

4. Organization of matter at the core level,

• liquid drop model, layer effects, visualization with a simple Woods-Saxon potential, tunnel effect, description of effective strong force

5. Instability and radio activities
6. Nuclear reactions induced by neutron.

• Separation thermal / epithermal / fast spectrum.
• Introduction of the concept of effective section

7. Application of the concept of macroscopic cross-section (mitigation calculation),

• interaction radiation material, Geiger-Müller detector description

8. Nuclear data, uncertainties, covariances

• introduction to Janis

9. Phase space, definition of flux, current, neutron density, neutron balance
10. Establishment of Boltzmann equation for neutrons
11. Evolution of fuel

Monitoring

[1] S. Marguet, The physics of nuclear reactors. Lavoisier, 2011.