Symmetries in Atomic Nuclei by Alejandro Frank

Symmetries in Atomic Nuclei by Alejandro Frank

The revised edition of this established work presents an extended overview of recent applications of symmetry to the description of atomic nuclei, including a pedagogical introduction to symmetry concepts using simple examples. Following a historical overview of the applications of symmetry in nuclear physics, attention turns to more recent progress in the field. Special emphasis is placed on the introduction of neutron-proton and boson-fermion degrees of freedom. Their combination leads to a supersymmetric description of pairs and quartets of nuclei.

Expanded and updated throughout, the book now features separate chapters on the nuclear shell model and the interacting boson model, the former including discussion of recent results on seniority in a single-j shell. Both theoretical aspects and experimental signatures of dynamical (super)symmetries are carefully discussed.  

This book focuses on nuclear structure physics, but its broad scope makes it suitable for final-year or post-graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the power and beauty of symmetry methods in physics.

Review of the 1st Edition:

"The subject of this book, symmetries in physical systems, with particular focus on atomic nuclei, is of the utmost importance in modern physical science. In contrast to most treatments, frequently characterized by fearsome formalism, this book leads the reader step-by-step, in an easily understandable way, through this fascinating field...this book is remarkably accessible to both theorists and experimentalists. Indeed, I view it as essential reading for experimental nuclear structure physicists. This is one of the finest volumes on this subject I have ever encountered."

Prof. R.F. Casten, Yale University

Jan Jolie is Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne. He performed several crucial experiments to test the applications of supersymmetry in atomic nuclei. For this work he was awarded the Leigh-Page Prize 2000 by Yale University.

Alejandro Frank is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has received several distinctions including a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was head of the Department of Structure of Matter in the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).  On March 3, 2016, he entered as a member of El Colegio Nacional, the highest academic institution in Mexico.

Piet van Isacker is a member of the Mexican Academy of Science and has written two previous books on the application of symmetry methods to nuclear physics.