Nuclear Reactions

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear reactions, covering fundamental principles, various reaction types, and their significance in energy production, astrophysics, and particle physics.

Contribution

It offers a detailed synthesis of nuclear reaction mechanisms, laws, and specific cases, integrating basic equations and recent developments in the field.

Findings

Summarizes conservation laws in nuclear reactions.

Describes formation and decay of compound nuclei.

Includes analysis of quark-gluon plasma formation.

Abstract

Nuclear reactions generate energy in nuclear reactors, in stars, and are responsible for the existence of all elements heavier than hydrogen in the universe. Nuclear reactions denote reactions between nuclei, and between nuclei and other fundamental particles, such as electrons and photons. A short description of the conservation laws and the definition of basic physical quantities is presented, followed by a more detailed account of specific cases: (a) formation and decay of compound nuclei; (b)direct reactions; (c) photon and electron scattering; (d) heavy ion collisions; (e) formation of a quark-gluon plasma; (f) thermonuclear reactions; (g) and reactions with radioactive beams. Whenever necessary, basic equations are introduced to help understand general properties of these reactions. Published in Wiley Encyclopedia of Physics, ISBN-13: 978-3-527-40691-3 - Wiley-VCH, Berlin, 2009.