What are some suggestions for a Monte Carlo simulation in nuclear physics?

In summary, this student is looking for ideas on problems to investigate in nuclear physics that they can spend approx. one week on. They are in an upper undergrad physics class, and should write the program if using a monte-carlo technique.
  • #1
malawi_glenn
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Hi!

Iam about to have a home assignment to perform a monte carlo simulation of a non-trival function with several variables, that is related to our interestests of study. My interest is Nuclear physics, and I was wondering if any of you guys have suggestions for problem in nuclear physics that I can investigate? We are supposed to spend approx one week of full time studies on this task (approx 40h).
 
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  • #2
The question as you asked is a bit too open-ended to get a meaningful answer. Some clarification that would help:
  • Where you are in school? (high school, lower undergrad, upper undergrad, ...)
  • What kind of class is this? (computer science, physics, ...)
  • Do you have to write the program? If so, do you have some monte-carlo infrastructure available, or do have to write that plus the models? Forty hours is not near enough time to do the whole kit-and-kaboodle, let alone do the analysis.
 
  • #3
Okay

This is last year under graduate at university.

Class is physics.

I should write a code/ program when monte carlo technique is used to solve a non-trivial problem, in a topic in my field of interest, I will use octave as program I think. (also the teacher have suggestions if we don't come up with any). So therefore, I asked here =)
 
  • #4
Hmmm. How about Rutherford scattering?
 
  • #5
thanx, but we did a computur laboration on Rutherford scattering in my first nuclear physics course ;)
 
  • #6
approx. solution (some restricted set) to the boltzmann-poisson diffusion equation would be cool

another choice might be to calculate the path integral for a system of bosons (fermions would be untouchable), or scattering cross section...

ideas are endless really..
 
  • #7
malawi_glenn said:
Hi!

Iam about to have a home assignment to perform a monte carlo simulation of a non-trival function with several variables, that is related to our interestests of study. My interest is Nuclear physics, and I was wondering if any of you guys have suggestions for problem in nuclear physics that I can investigate? We are supposed to spend approx one week of full time studies on this task (approx 40h).

You could extract the mass of a meson (a quark-antiquark bound state) from a path integral using a lattice. (it's a stanadrd computation in lattice gauge theory, you could find a lot of information in books or papers freely available).
 
  • #8
Thanx guys for all the tips, I will look them up =)
 

FAQ: What are some suggestions for a Monte Carlo simulation in nuclear physics?

What is a Monte Carlo task in physics?

A Monte Carlo task in physics is a numerical method used to solve problems that are difficult or impossible to solve analytically. It involves simulating random processes to obtain numerical results that can be used to estimate physical quantities.

How is the Monte Carlo method used in physics?

The Monte Carlo method is used in physics to solve a wide range of problems, including statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and fluid dynamics. It is particularly useful for problems that involve multiple variables and complex interactions.

What are the advantages of using the Monte Carlo method in physics?

One advantage of using the Monte Carlo method in physics is that it can handle problems with a large number of variables and complex interactions. It also provides a way to obtain numerical results for problems that do not have an analytical solution.

What are the limitations of the Monte Carlo method in physics?

One limitation of the Monte Carlo method is that it can be computationally intensive, requiring a large number of random samples to obtain accurate results. It can also be challenging to apply to problems with highly non-linear behavior.

How is the accuracy of the Monte Carlo method in physics determined?

The accuracy of the Monte Carlo method in physics is determined by the number of random samples used and the convergence of the results. Generally, as the number of samples increases, the accuracy of the results improves. However, for some problems, the convergence may be slow, and a large number of samples may be required to obtain accurate results.

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