AN INSTITUTE FOR CSIR-NET JRF,GATE,JEST,BARC,TIFR,IIT-JAM

BY HIMANSHU AGRAWAL (CSIR-NET JRF,GATE,JEST,BARC)

ASSIGNMENT: NUCLEAR PHYSICS (CSIR-NET)

1. Which of the following decay processes is allowed?

(a) 𝐾 0 → 𝜇 + + 𝜇 − (b) 𝜇 − → 𝑒 − + 𝛾
(c) n → p + 𝜋 − (d) n → 𝜋 + + 𝜋 −
2. The Bethe-Weizsacker formula for the binding energy (in MeV) of a
nucleus of atomic number Z and mass number A is

𝑧(𝑧−1) (𝐴−2𝑍)2
15.8A-18.3𝐴2⁄3 -0.714 - 23.2
𝐴1⁄3 𝐴

The ratio Z/A for the most stable isobar of a A=64 nucleus, is nearest
to

(a) 0.30 (b)0.35 (c) 0.45 (d) 0.50

3. The mean life-time of the following decays:
𝜌0 → 𝜋 + + 𝜋 − , 𝜋 0 → 𝛾 + 𝛾 , 𝜇 − → 𝑒 − + 𝑉− +𝓋𝜇 , are 𝜏𝜌 , 𝜏𝜋 and 𝜏𝜇
𝑒

respectively.
They satisfy
(a) 𝜏𝜋 < 𝜏𝜌 <𝜏𝜇 (b) 𝜏𝜇 < 𝜏𝜌 <𝜏𝜋
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 (c) 𝜏𝜌 < 𝜏𝜋 <𝜏𝜇 (d) 𝜏𝜌 < 𝜏𝜇 <𝜏𝜋
4. An excited state of a 84 Be nucleus decays into two ɑ-particle which
are in a spin–parity 0+ state. If the mean life-time of this decay is
10−22 s, the spin-parity of the excited state of the nucleus is
(a) 2+ (b) 3+

(c) 0− (d) 4−

5. The low lying energy levels due to the vibrational excitations of an

even-even nucleus are shown in the figure below.
0+ 𝐹4 =1.35 MeV
+
2 𝐸3 =1.25 MeV
4+ 𝐸2 =1.17 MeV
~2∆𝐸
𝑗𝑝 𝐸1 = 0.56 MeV
∆𝐸

𝑂+ 𝐸0 = 0 MeV
𝑝
The spin – parity 𝑗 of the level 𝐸1 is
(a) 1+ (c)1-
(b) 2- (d) 2+

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6. A nucleus decays by the emission of a gamma ray from an excited
state of spin parity 2+ to the ground state with spin-parity 0+ what is
the type of the corresponding radiation?
(a) magnetic dipole (b) electric quadrupole
(c) electric dipole (d) magnetic quadrupole

7. Which of the following elementary particle processes does not

conserve strangeness?
(a)𝜋 0 +p → 𝑘 + +∧0 (b) 𝜋 − +p → 𝑘 0 + ∧0
(c) ∆0 → 𝜋 0 + n (d) 𝐾 0 → 𝜋 + + 𝜋 −

8. The reaction 63𝐶𝑢29 +P → 63𝑍𝑛30 +n is following by a prompt 𝛽-

decay of zinc 63𝑍𝑛30 → 63𝐶𝑢29 + 𝑒 + +𝑣𝑒 . If the maximum energy of
the position is 2.4 MeV, the 𝒬 - value of the original reaction in MeV
is nearest to
[Take the masses of electron, proton and neutron to be 0.5 MeV
/𝑐 2 ,938 MeV /𝑐 2 and 939.5 MeV / 𝑐 2 , respectively.]

(a)-4.4 (b) -2.4 (c)-4.8 (d)-3.4

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9. Which of the following proces is not allowed by the strong
interaction but is allowed by the weak interaction?
(a) 𝐾 0 +𝜋 0 →𝐾−0+𝜋 + + 𝜋 − (b) P+n → d+P+𝑃̅
(c) ∆+ +𝐾 0 → P+n (d) P+∆+ → 𝑛̅ +∆++

10. The first excited state of the rotational spectrum of the nucleus
238
92
U has an energy 45 keV above the ground state. The energy of

the second excited state (in keV ) is

(a) 150 (b 120
(c) 90 (d) 60

11. The spin-parity is assignments for the ground and first excited
state of isotopic 57
28
Ni, in the single particle shell model, are
1 3 5 7
(a)( ) _ and ( )_ (b) ( )+ and ( )+
2 2 2 2

3 3 3 5
(c) ( )+ and ( )+ (d) ( )_ and ( )_
2 2 2 2

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12. A baryon X decays by strong interaction as X→ ∑+ + 𝜋 − +𝜋 0 ,
Where ∑+ is a member of the isotriplet (∑+ , ∑0 , ∑− ). The third
component 𝐼3 of the isospin of X is
(a)0 (b)1⁄2
(c)1 (d) 3⁄2

13. The range of the nuclear force between two nucleons due to the
exchange of pions is 1.40 fm . If the mass of pion is 140 MeV/𝑐 2 and
the mass of the rho-meson is 770 MeV/𝑐 2 then the range of the
force due to exchange of rho-mesons is
(a) 1.40 fm (b) 7.70fm (c) 0.25 fm (d) 0.18 fm

232
14. If in a spontaneous 𝛼 – decay of 92
U at rest, the total energy in

the reaction is . then the energy carried by the 𝛼 – particle is

(a) 57 𝒬/58 (b) 𝒬/57 (c) 𝒬/58 (d) 23𝒬/58

15. A particle , which is a composite state of three quark u,d and s,

has electric charge spin and strangeness respectively, equal to.
1 1 1
(a) 1, -1 (b) 0,0,- 1 (c)0, , -1 (d) -1, - + 1
2 2 2

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 16. Which of the following reaction (s) is /are allowed by the
conservation laws?
i. 𝜋 + +n → ⋀0 +𝐾 +
ii. 𝜋 − +n → ⋀0 +𝐾 +
(a) both (1)and(2) (b) only (1) (c) only (2) (d) neither(1)nor(2)

17. What should be the minimum energy of a photon for it to split an

𝛼- particle at rest into a tritium and a proton?
(The masses of 42 He, 31 H and 11H are 4.0026 amu, 3.0161 amu and
1.0073 amu respectively and 1amu ≈938MeV)
(a)32.2MeV (b)3MeV (c)19.3MeV (d)931.5MeV

18. According to the shell model , the nuclear magnetic moment of

the 27
13
Al nucleus is (Given that for a proton 𝑔𝑙 = 1, 𝑔𝑠 =5.586, and for
a neutron g 𝑙 = 0, g 𝑠 =-3.826)
(a) -1.913 𝜇𝑁 (b)14.414 𝜇𝑁

(c) 4.793 𝜇𝑁 (d) 0

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 19. Let Es denote the contribution of the surface energy per nucleon in
the liquid drop model. The ratio Es (27
13
𝐴𝑙):E s (64
30
𝑍𝑛) 𝑖𝑠

(a) 2:3 (b) 4:3 (c) 5:3 (d) 3:2

20. A radioactive element X decays to Y , which in turn decays to a

stable element Z. The decay constant from X to Y is 𝜆1, and that from y
to Z is 𝜆2 .If, to begin with, there are only N0 atoms of X , at short time
1 1
(1<< as well as ) the number of atoms of Z will be
𝜆1 𝜆2

1 𝜆 1 𝜆2
(a) 𝜆1 𝜆2N0t2 (b) N0t
2 2(𝜆1 𝜆2)

(c)( 𝜆1 + 𝜆2 )2 N0 t2 (d) ( 𝜆1 + 𝜆2 ) N0t

21. Of the nuclei of mass number A = 125, the binding energy calculated
the from the liquid drop model (given that the coefficients for the
Coulomb and the as asymmetry energy are 𝑎𝑐 =0.7 MeV and 𝑎𝑠𝑦𝑚 =22.5
MeV respectively is maximum for

(a 125
54
𝑋𝑒 (b) 124
53
𝐼 (c) 125
52
𝑇𝑒 (d) 125
51
𝑆𝑏

22. Consider the following processes involving free particle

I. 𝑛 → 𝑝 +e + +𝑣𝑒
II. 𝑝 + 𝑛 → 𝜋−

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III. 𝑝 + 𝑛 → 𝜋 + +𝜋 0 +𝜋 0
IV. P+ 𝑣𝑒 →n+𝑒 +

Which of following statements is true?

a. Process 1. Obeys all conservation laws?

b. Process 2. conserves baryon number, but violates energy-
momentum conservation
c. Process 3. is not allowed by strong interaction but is allowed by
weak interactions
d. Process 4. Conserves baryon number, but violate lepton number
conservation

23. The charm quark S assigned a charm quantum number C =1 . How

should the Gellmann-Nishijima formula for electric charge be modified
for four flavors of quarks ?

1 1
(a)𝑙3 + (𝐵 − 𝑆 − 𝐶) (b) 𝑙3 + (𝐵 − 𝑆 + 𝐶)
2 2

1 1
(c) 𝑙3 + (𝐵 + 𝑆 − 𝐶) (d) 𝑙3 + (𝐵 + 𝑆 + 𝐶)
2 2

24. Let us approximate the nuclear potential in the shell model by a

three dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator. Since the lowest two
energy levels have angular momenta 𝑙 = 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙 = 1 respectively,

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which of the following two nuclei have magic number of protons and
neutrons ?

4 16
(a) 2
𝐻𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8
𝑂 (b) 21 𝐷 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8
4
𝐵𝑒

(c) 21 𝐻𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8
4
𝐵𝑒 (d) 21 𝐻𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8
4
𝐶

25. The reaction 21 𝐷 + 2

1
𝐷 → 42 𝐻𝑒 + 𝜋 0 cannot proceed via strong
interactions because it violates the conservation of

(a) angular momentum (b) electric charge

(c) baryon number (d) isospin

26. if the binding energy B of a nucleus (mass number A and charge Z) is

given by

(2𝑍−𝐴)2 𝑎𝐶 𝑍 2
B = 𝑎𝑣 𝐴 − 𝑎𝑠 𝐴2⁄3 − 𝑎𝑠𝑦𝑚 +
𝐴 𝐴1⁄3

Where 𝑎𝑣 =16MeV , 𝑎𝑠 =16MeV,𝑎𝑎 = 24𝑀𝑒𝑉 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑐 = 0.75𝑀𝑒𝑉, then

for the most stable isobar for a nucleus with A = 216 is

(a) 68 (b) 72 (c) 84 (d) 92

27. Consider the four processes

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 (a) 𝑝+ → 𝑛 +𝑒 + + 𝑣e (b)⋀0→P++Ve

(c) 𝜋 + → 𝑒 + + 𝑣e (d) 𝜋 0 → 𝛾 + 𝛾

Which of the above is/are forbidden for free particle?

(1) Only (b) (2) (b) and (d)

(3) (a) and (d) (4) (a) and (b)

28. In a classical model, a scalar (spin-0) meson consists of a quark and

𝑏
an antiquark bound by a potential 𝑉 (𝑟) = 𝑎𝑟 + , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎 =
𝑟

200𝑀𝑒𝑉 fm-1 and b =100 MeV fm. If the masses of the quark and
negligible, the mass of the meson can be estimated as approximately

(a)141 MeV/c2 (b) 283 MeV/c2

(c) 353 MeV/c2 (d) 425 MeV/c2

29. The recently-discovered Higgs boson at the LHC experiment has a

decay mode into a photon and a Z boson. If the rest masses of the Higgs
and Z boson are 125 Ge𝑉 ⁄𝑐 2 and 90 Ge𝑉 ⁄𝑐 2 respectively , and the
decaying Higgs particle is at rest, the energy of the photon will
approximately be

(a)35√3 GeV (b) 35 GeV (c)30 GeV (d)15 GeV

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30. According to the shell model, the total angular momentum (in units
of h) and the parity of the ground state of the 73 𝐿𝑖 nucleus is

3 3
(a) with negative parity (b) with positive parity
2 2

1 7
(c) with positive parity (d) with negative parity
2 2

31. spin -1/2 particle A undergoes the delay A → B+C+D, Where it is

Known that B and C are also spin-1/2 particle. The complete set of
allowed value of the spin of the particle D is

1 3 5 1 1 4 5 7
(a) , 1, , 2, , 3. (b)0,1 (c) 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 (d) , , , … …
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

32.The binding energy of a light nucleus (Z,A) in MeV is given by the

approximate formula

2⁄ 3 3 2 −1⁄3 (𝑁−𝑍)2
𝐵(𝐴. 𝑍 ) ≈ 16𝐴 − 20𝐴 − 𝑍 𝐴 + 30
4 𝐴

Where N=A-Z is the neutron number . The value of the most stable
isobar for a given A is

𝐴 𝐴 2⁄3 -1 𝐴 𝐴 𝐴 2⁄3 -1 𝐴 𝐴4⁄3 -1

(a) (1 − ) (b) (c) (1 − ) (d) (1 − )
2 160 2 2 160 2 64

33. The dominate interactions underlying the following processes

A. 𝐾 − + 𝑝 → ∑− + 𝜋 + , B. 𝜇 + 𝜇 − → 𝐾 − + 𝐾 + , C. ∑+ →P+ 𝜋 0 are
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 a. A:strong, B:electromagnetic and ; C: weak
b. A: strong, B: weak and; C: weak
c. A: weak, B: electromagnetic and ; C: strong
d. A: weak, B: electromagnetic and; C: weak
1−
34. The ground stage of 207
82
Pb nucleus has spin-parity JP = , While the
2
5−
first exited state has JP = . The electromagnetic radiation emitted
2

when the nucleus makes a transition from the first excited state to
ground state are.

(a)E2 and E3 (b) M2 or E3 (c) E2 or M3 (d) M2 or M3

35. The difference in the Coulomb energy between the mirror nuclei 49
24

Cr and 49
25
Mn is 6.0MeV Assuming that the nuclei have a spherically
symmetric charge distribution and that 𝑘𝑒 2 is approximately 1.0 Mev –
Fm, the radius of the 49
25
Mn nucleus is

(a)4.9× 10-2m (b) 4.9× 10-15m

(c) 5.1× 10-13m (d) 5.1× 10-15m

36. According to the shell model the spin and parity of the two nuclei
125
51
𝑆𝑏 and 89
38
𝑆𝑟 are, respectively.

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 5 5 5 7
(a)( )+ and ( )+ (b) ( )+ and ( )+
2 2 2 2

7 5 7 7
(c) ( )+ and ( ) + (d) ( )+ and ( )+
2 2 2 2

37. A beam of pions (𝜋 + ) incident on a proton target, giving rise to

the process 𝜋 + +p→ n + 𝜋 + + 𝜋 +

(A) Assuming that the decay proceeds through strong interactions,

the total isospin 𝐼 and its third comments 𝐼3 for the decay products,

are

3 3 5 5
(a)𝐼 = , 𝐼3 = (b) 𝐼 = , 𝐼3 =
2 2 2 2

5 3 1 1
(c) 𝐼 = , 𝐼3 = (d) 𝐼 = , 𝐼3 =-
2 2 2 2

38. The radius of a 64

29
𝐶𝑢 nucleus is measured to be 4.8× 10−13 cm.

(A) The radius of a 27

12
𝑀𝑔 nucleus can be estimated to be

(a)2.8× 10−13 cm (b) 5.2× 10−13 cm

(c) 3.6× 10−13cm (d) 8.6× 10−13cm

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(B) The root-mean-square (r.m.s) energy of a nucleon in a nucleus of
atomic number A in its ground state as;

(a)𝐴4⁄3 (b) 𝐴1⁄3 (c) 𝐴−1⁄3 (d) 𝐴−2⁄3

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