Introduction to Nuclear Reactions (Graduate Student Series in Physics)

Until the publication of Introduction to Nuclear Reactions, an introductory reference on nonrelativistic nuclear reactions had been unavailable. Providing a concise overview of nuclear reactions, this reference discusses the main formalisms, ranging from basic laws to the final formulae used to calculate measurable quantities.

Well known in their fields, the authors begin with a discussion of scattering theory followed by a study of its applications to specific nuclear reactions. Early chapters give a framework of scattering theory that can be easily understood by the novice. These chapters also serve as an introduction to the underlying physical ideas. The largest section of the book comprises the physical models that have been developed to account for the various aspects of nuclear reaction phenomena. The final chapters survey applications of the eikonal wavefunction to nuclear reactions as well as examine the important branch of nuclear transport equations.

By combining a thorough theoretical approach with applications to recent experimental data, Introduction to Nuclear Reactions helps you understand the results of experimental measurements rather than describe how they are made. A clear treatment of the topics and coherent organization make this information understandable to students and professionals with a solid foundation in physics as well as to those with a more general science and technology background.

"As it is, the book brilliantly fills a sort of gap in the field, one one side of which we can find somehow more basic introductory books with only a limited development of the formalism...and, on the other side, more specialised monographic studies. The authors meant this book for students at the end of their graduate study in physics. To this purpose, useful exercises were added for each subject. Thanks to the extension with which the matter is treated, however, this text is very valuable for PhD students at the beginning of a research path into nuclear reactions, either those who will go on to develop theory or carry out measurements." --Riccardo Raabe, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven