Nishina School 2024

Thoughts and Comments from the Participants

Chan Hoi Yat

Flying to Japan for the Nishina School was the third time I’ve flown this summer, so it goes without saying I was initially incredibly tired. Landing at 3 am at Haneda, I slept at the airport until the first trains started, which after began a 1-hour ride to Wako city, where RIKEN was situated and where element-113, Nihonium was discovered.

Upon arriving at Wako city station, immediately I was greeted with a giant periodic table, and a main road with signposts of the elements, and it was then I realised the unforgettable experience that was I about to have. Already within the first two days, we got to have a tour of the world’s first and most powerful Superconducting Ring Cyclotron. Being able to be so close to such a behemoth of engineering and science made me really appreciate the centuries worth of human endeavours without which none of this would have been possible.

In one of the lectures, a professor from the Seoul National University gave us students an integration question for “homework”, and what happened the next day really left a mark on me and was one of the highlights of the entire experience. Around a small two-person table, students from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and China were all discussing how to solve the integral. Yet, not a single word of English was spoken, and somehow, we managed to solve it. Through the universal language of mathematics (and a fair bit of body language), I truly experienced what it meant for science and cooperation to transcend nationalities.

Of course, the main show of the Nishina School was to be able to run your own experiments with an actual particle accelerator, which we were all very excited for. However, before we ran our experiments, we had to first make some estimations and predictions on what we expect to find, and thus began a very, very, very quick distilled course on nuclear physics. It took us two full days of maths and calculations and stumbling our way through before we finally had a prediction, but diving into the deep end and tackling a problem completely new to all of us, requiring us to work together and bounce ideas off each other (with the help of Google Translate) was an unforgettable experience.

Performing the actual experiment next to the pelletron was a unique experience, with the constant hum of the machine while collecting data in the background. With the data collected, began another two days of data analysis, which puzzled us once more. However, with the guidance of each other and our group mentor Dr. Fu, this was an experience which allowed me to learn more than I could ever have sitting with a book.

All in all, it was an incredible honour to have been able to partake in this programme, and meeting students and scientists from all over the world was truly an unforgettable experience. An immense thank you to all those who made this possible and supported me through out.

Cynthia Aarons

I had an unforgettable time in the Nishina School in RIKEN and I’m extremely grateful that I got such a unique experience. As a physics student who is passionate about nuclear physics and would like to pursue it in the future, it was amazing seeing the facilities and even getting to take part in experiments using the equipment.

I think my most memorable time was working with my group on the experiment. I was put in a group to studying the cross section of Aluminium-27, along with students from Korea, Japan and Beijing. At first, it was quite difficult to work together due to a language barrier and just a general sense of unfamiliarity with each other. However, as the days went on, we became more comfortable with each other and were able to communicate more easily. It was really amazing to me that we could all work so smoothly on our project even without ever working together before and it was great seeing everyone’s different strengths come into play. For example, some people were stronger at coding while others were stronger at manual calculations. Together, we were able to put together our different skills and produce a good experiment and presentation as well.

Overall, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Even just being able to take a tour of the accelerator facility was really interesting and our group leaders each explained their own experiments. Since I want to continue in the nuclear physics field in the future, I believe this was a really beneficial experience. Not only did I get to learn more about nuclear physics theory, but I was also able to get a glimpse into the practical aspect, as well as the experience of working with other like minded individuals.

Fung Chiu Wah

It has truly been a precious opportunity to participate in the Nishina School for Nuclear Physics. It was a very memorable activity that recorded some of my 'firsts': the first time falling in love with experiments, the first time cooperating with students (now friends) from different countries like China, South Korea, the US, and Japan, among others. The most memorable part was conducting a group project on the in-beam reaction 12C(p,γ)13N. Although it was challenging to measure the cross-section of the experiment, my groupmates from SNU, PKU, and Saitama University, and I worked together and finally succeeded in calculating the cross-section.

I also met some of the friendliest human beings ever. For instance, my group conductor, a PhD student at RIKEN, invited us to dinner and drinks after the last day of the experiment. Although we did not drink much, we had some memorable moments, such as making Takoyaki ourselves. We had a fruitful discussion about cultural differences across different countries, as well as how to express one's ideas using different languages, and we found a striking similarity between East Asian languages.

This experience enabled me to work with people from all around the world and further confirmed my dream of becoming a physicist. It was one of the best experiences of my university life.

Lau Tsun Yu

I am very glad to be able to join the Nishina School in RIKEN, this event had given me treasurable and unforgettable experiences in my study. I am interested in the nuclear physics, and also planning to do my further study in Japan.

For the challenges in the school, the first difficulty I would say is the communication problem. In my group, we have students from Japan, Korea, China, USA, me from Hong Kong, and a Japanese instructor. In fact, except the US student, none of us can speak English well (including myself, not being that fluent). I can speak Japanese, Mandarin (but not Korean, sorry for that my Korean groupmate!), sometimes I have to play a role as a translator, but I still feel good for that as it somehow helped improving my language level. Also, our instructor did not always give us hint or directions, so we need to think most of the stuff by ourselves. On the other hand, I have also learnt some specific terms of physics in Japanese, which I will not have a chance to learn that from my language textbook, such as they call hydrogen as 水素(element of water), oxygen as 酸素(element of acid？which does not quite make sense), however they also call a lot of terms just by similar English pronunciation, such as cross-section(クロスセクション, kurosu-sekushon), beam as ビーム(bi-mu). Back to the communication problem, although we cannot express our thoughts effectively in English, but back to the physics problems, the math and the symbols, all of us can somehow get what each other is doing. Again, physics and math is the real international language of the world(?).

In the experiment and analysis, it had been a very big challenge for us. Our group is to measure the 9Be(p,gamma)10B in beam, and the final target is to find the cross section for this reaction. Our first challenge began when identifying the expected peak and estimating the expected count rate for the gamma from the reaction. We firstly founded that the maximum excited state energy of the 10B nuclei can be up to 8MeV when using a 2MeV proton beam. In such high energy, the decay scheme was very complicated. Considering the major peak, it was predicted at around 7.7MeV, together with its single and double escape peak, and the Compton edge, which would have a very low detection efficiency for the NaI detector we used. As what we expected, the received count rate is low. Also, the peaks we detected at high energy range are all broadened to be overlapping with each other. What we can do is to force fit 3 Gaussian curve together with the Compton edge function into our result spectrum. We also found that there were large scale deviations of energy value to our expected value, as the calibration data we use is only up to around 3MeV. All in all, we think the result for the high energy peaks are not that accurate, which is very different from the expected value, so we change our target to the 718keV low energy peak. However, we found that the cross section result from the low energy peak is totally not consistent with what we got from high energy and our expected value. At the very last stage, we finally realized we did something wrong in the calculation, of the detection efficiency of the NaI detector at different energies. After correction, we successfully find our result, fits with the literature value (at least in the same order) and successfully presented our results. After this experiment I analyzing, I realized the challenges in experimental physics is much more complicated than what I had thought. Everything takes long time of studying, preparing, analyzing, and a lot of trial and error. We used a python code for most of our data analysis, however I am not quite good at it. Therefore, I also think that I need to strengthen my skills.

For some out-of-school activities, I joined the group for some ‘local chilling parties’, such as drinking gathering in the Izakaya restaurant, and we also went for yakiniku and karaoke, where I can try to sing some of my favorite Japanese song! At the weekend, I went to a traditional Japanese town Kawagoe, where I can visit their shrine and Edo styled building, and buy some traditional crafts for soverniers, which is quite beautiful and special. While another day I went to a concert of one of my favorite anime band ‘MyGO!!!!!’, it was very lucky that it was holding just in time when I am just in Tokyo, and more lucky that I could get the ticket! The concert is very nice and that was the first time I ever watch a concert, their song often give me support and encouragement! At last, the school also offered a farewell party for all of us, where free alcohol and gourmet are served, having a chilling night to give a full-stop for the Nishina School.

This summer school provide a chance for me to firstly, deal with real nuclear physics problem by our hand, and secondly, knowing more about the study and research environment in Japan by communicating with local students, staffs and even Hong Kong student who study in Japan. All in all, I have learnt various things both in physics study and my future path planning.

Forrest Cheng

Introduction
As a 4th-year university physics student, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at RIKEN, a leading Japanese nuclear research center. This experience expanded my knowledge in nuclear physics and allowed me to engage with cutting-edge research. Here’s an overview of what I learned and the friendships I formed during my time there.

Learning Outcomes
During my internship, I delved into advanced topics such as: Nuclear Fission and Fusion: I gained insights into the mechanisms of both processes and their applications in energy production. Particle Detection Techniques: I learned about various methods for detecting and analyzing nuclear particles, including the use of scintillation counter Radiation Safety: Understanding and implementing protocols for radiation protection was crucial.

Research Techniques
Data Analysis: I honed my skills in analyzing experimental data using software like MATLAB and Python, crucial for interpreting complex results. Experimental Design: I participated in designing experiments, which taught me the importance of precision and control in scientific research.

Collaboration
Working alongside experienced researchers taught me the value of teamwork and effective communication in a scientific setting. I learned how to: Present Findings: I presented research findings in weekly meetings, improving my public speaking and technical communication skills. Collaborate Across Cultures: Engaging with an international team improved my ability to work in diverse environments.

Networking
I made valuable connections with professionals and fellow interns, including a senior researcher who mentored me throughout my internship. His guidance was instrumental in deepening my understanding of nuclear physics. We have also grown closer during dinner with other fellow interns

Cultural Experience
Living in Japan provided me with a rich cultural experience. I enjoyed exploring local traditions, cuisine, and language, which broadened my global perspective. It was fantastic to learn a few Japanese phrases from local students as well.

Conclusion
My internship at RIKEN was a transformative experience. It not only enhanced my technical skills and knowledge but also enriched my personal and professional life. The friendships I made and the cultural insights I gained will have a lasting impact on my future endeavors. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a prestigious research environment and look forward to applying what I have learned in my future career.