Nishina School 2018

Thoughts and Comments from the Participants

Taranjit Singh

The Nuclear Physics Summer School at RIKEN was memorable experience. Having no prior knowledge of nuclear physics, I thought I would have grave difficulty in catching up with students from other universities during the lectures and experiments sessions. Fortunately, that was not the case. The staff at RIKEN and the professors from the universities were extremely helpful in each step.

The lectures given by RIKEN staff and professors from the two universities were of diverse topics in nuclear physics thus were extremely interesting. The experiment was an unforgettable experience. The experiment was about detecting gamma rays released from the beta decay of carbon to nitrogen upon bombardment with beam of photons. The analysis of the data from the experiment was challenging for most students as a new data processing software was introduced to analysis the highly complex data. But with the help of the staff and professors, we could obtain the desirable results in a short period of time.

Apart from the summer school, I also got the chance to experience Japanese culture first-hand. We explored Tokyo in the weekend and had dinner in different restaurants every night.

I have learnt a lot about nuclear physics through this summer school in Japan which has inspired me to take courses related to nuclear physics in the coming semesters. I am grateful to the HKU Physics department for this opportunity.

Ho Cheong Tang

Joining the 2018 Nishina School at RIKEN was an extremely fruitful experience in many ways. Unlike lectures during the regular semester, the school combines theory and hands-on experiment throughout the two-week program. The staff were helpful yet I did not feel like they were holding my hands throughout. Instead they also gave plentiful space at times for us to consider all the aspects of the experiment on our own.

Also, I had the chance to make friends with the students from Peking University and Seoul National University. They were all extremely bright and sociable, so we were able to work together as a team to complete our experiment. The camaraderie we developed gave us happy moments both inside and outside the laboratory.

I believe that the success of the Nishina School was thanks not only to the laboratory or the equipment, but also to the people involved. With the cooperative program staff at RIKEN and the “work-hard play-hard” attitude of all the students, I hope the 2019 Nishina School will have participants that are just as enthusiastic.

Yuen Shan Tang

Riken’s Nishina summer school gave me an opportunity to participate in a professional physics experiment.

In the first week, we were provided some lectures about the structure and operation of the accelerator and the safety guidelines for the experiment as well as a trip to explore the professional laboratory; in the second week, we had chances to do the experiment on our own. During the practice, my experimental skills and analysing skills are greatly improved.

The professors and technicians there were all very friendly to answer our questions and teach us step-by-step patiently.

Besides the experiments, I have met many friends from PKU and KNU with different culture background and had a great moment with them in the program. They were all very friendly to share their lives and culture in their home countries and collaborative during the experiment. I am very grateful to be a member in this meaningful and memorable trip.

Qingqing Zhao

The two-week Nishina School has been an unforgettable experience for me. By spending two weeks at Riken, Japan's largest comprehensive research institution, I have learned a lot about nuclear physics research including some basic experimental techniques, data analysis methods, collaboration skills and even, how to present experimental results.

The whole program has been designed in a very well-rounded way. In the first week, several lectures were delivered to us explaining the goal and method of our experiments. Since nine NaI detectors were used in this experiment, we have learned about working principles and peak analysis methods for such detectors as well as its efficiency in those lectures. Before the real experiment, an estimation of the yield of the measurement was performed in order to check the feasibility of the experiment.

After some informative lectures and estimation, we were divided into four groups working on different parts of experiments. Our groups consist of students from HKU, PKU, and SNU and we have been working on activation experiment for 2MeV 12C(p,γ)13N reaction. Due to some target related problem, the spectrum we observed is very different from what we expected and we did not obtain the desired data in the end. Though we did not reach our initial goal, during the experiment, we were able to see how researchers perform all kinds of adjustment in order to find out the problems. Lots of discussions were made during this process and it has been some of my best moments at Riken.

A set of data was collected during the adjustment and our group has worked on the reason behind such unexpected spectrum occur. We suspected that most proton beams may miss the 12C target but hit on the glasses/Al holder instead. Therefore, with the data from this experiment, we have searched for some related academic papers and located the possible origin of those unexpected peaks.

I enjoyed the discussion made during the experiments a lot and the scientists helped during the summer school were all very nice and helpful. Besides working on small group projects, plenty of time was left free allowing us to visit Tokyo. Due to the amazing time for the school, we were able to join two large-scale fireworks in Japan and participate in the annual barbecue party at Riken. In a short, the program is very carefully designed and I definitely enjoyed my two-week time there.

Tik Tsun Yeung

It is my pleasure to have this opportunity to join the Nishina School programme. During the two weeks of comprehensive lectures and hands-on experiment, my knowledge and interest in nuclear physics have been enhanced.

For the first week, I attended several lectures of different related topics ranging from environment and astrophysics to experiments and safety. The lecturers helped us to have a better understanding in nuclear physics and the concepts of the experiment.

But more importantly, I grabbed a precious chance to visit the world's most advanced cyclotron at the RI Beam Facility (RIBF), where the new element Nihonium was found. At first, it is unbelievable that there is an overwhelmingly huge accelerator under a city. Although it was not operating, I can see the outer structures and components of each part of the facility. The most impressive part is the control room because it seems that many staff have to monitor and control the facility through the screens and computers.

For the week after, we were grouped into different teams with other participants from other countries to prepare the experiment. I had a deep discussion with my groupmates from HKU, PKU and SNU. For example, we have calculated the estimated cross section for the nuclear experiment together. Despite the fact that I have less prior knowledge in calculus, I still found my position to work with them.

Then, we went to the experimental area with a pelletron linear accelerator. An array of nine NaI(Tl) scintillating detectors was used to detect gamma ray from the nuclear reaction 12C(p,γ)13N. It is impossible to run the experiment in Hong Kong due to lack of facilities. We first calibrated the detectors by placing standard radioactive sources. After that, our group was assigned to do the activation measurement from the results of 1 MeV proton beam. Luckily, we had a super stable beam current during the experiment, so we could observe a 511 keV-photopeak in the spectrum as expected.

At last, we analysed the data and presented our findings. Thanks to the prolonged support from Motobayashi-san, the school principal, Dr. Chen, our tutor, and other teachers, we can complete the whole project from preparation to presentation suscessfully.

The most unforgettable part of the programme is when the students, together with teachers, were interacting with each other and trying to solve the problems faced. Some may even demonstrate their work on the white boards for discussion. Those spectacular scenes remind me of the importance of problem-solving skill and the power of communication.

Apart from the learning experience, we had a remarkable leisure time there. The School arranged a BBQ firework party for us and other workers there. I like the lively ambience very much! I am sure no one wants to miss that. Not to mention the lunch at the canteen. It was cheap and delicious.

In addition, I have made friends with students from HKU and other participating universities. They are all friendly and sometimes funny. We would go outside to eat and discover new things in downtown Tokyo. Sometimes, we gathered at the pantry to play card games and chat. I have learned their cultures and environments which are largely different from us.

In conclusion, I have a fruitful journey in this summer at RIKEN. It has broadened my horizon in terms of research, culture and social life. Therefore, I would strongly recommend all Physics students to join this programme. Even if you are not so familiar with experimental physics, you can still manage to complete the tasks and learn a lot of things. At last, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for having this chance and to all staff at Nishina School, tutors and other participants.