Physics 724 - Fall 2005

Course Content:

The course content is derived from a variety of sources, including the texts below. Please note that this is an advanced graduate level course in which it will not be possible to strictly follow any single textbook. In some cases content will be based on journal publications. In particular, it is expected that roughly the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the course will be based on the text(s), while the last 1/2 - 1/3 of the course will be based on diverse materials.

Required Text:
Required: Halzen, F. and Martin, A. D. "Quarks and Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics", John Wiley and Sons, New York (1984). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 0471887412

Optional Texts:
Griffiths, David. "Introduction to Elementary Particles", Harper & Row, New York (1987). ISBN: 0471603864
Perkins, D. H. "Introduction to High Energy Physics", 4th edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Menlo Park, CA (2000). Cambridge Univ Press. ISBN: 0521621968

The course begins by using gamma matrix technology to compute simple electromagnetic scattering problems. We continue with the weak and strong interactions, focusing first on low-energy weak interactions and later on higher energy processes. We will then continue with a description of gauge invariance and the standard model. Contemporary experimental studies will include neutrino physics, the study of CP violation using heavy flavors and the search for the Higgs boson. Finally, we will explore physics beyond the standard model and discuss experiments designed to study possible extensions of the standard model. In particular we will attempt to gain some familiarity with various Higgs scenarios and supersymmetry and to understand the motivations and design of experiments at the LHC and the LC.

While much of the material is contained in the text by Halzen and Martin and last semester's text by Griffiths, from time to time we shall be forced to consult other texts and research publications (particularly in the second half of the course).

Projects

It is important to pick a topic relevant to the course, such as searches for new particles etc. Off-course topics will be discouraged, but may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. It is important to keep it simple; to have a brief (5-minute) introduction with the background theory and results simply stated (not derived); to focus on a single measurement if possible; to work out some numbers, e.g., number of signal events, background events, need for specific apparatus, etc. It is also useful to your fellow students to show how the results derive from the observations, how they cannot be produced by the backgrounds, and what is the significance of the result. Generally speaking, trying to cover too much ground is not a good idea. If you have a good command of the subject and wish to display it, pelase do so in the report. Under no circumstances should anything in the report be a copy of anything published or found on the web. You may cut and paste figures, but all the words must be your own. Provide references for all your sources, and for further reading. Make it interesting! If you understand your subject matter well, your presentation will go very well.

Examples of good topics are provided by some of the recent physics Nobel laureates and their work, see list below. Note that some names are dropped because their work was covered in the last semester (e.g., Murray Gell-Mann), some for other reasons. Recommended are:

Nobel / Discovery Year	Physicist(s)	Work
1963	Eugene P. Wigner	His discovery and application of symmetry principles to elementary particle theory.
1965	Richard P. Feynman	QED
1976	Burton Richter, Samuel C. C. Ting	Their independent discovery of J and psi particles.
1979	Sheldon L. Glashow, Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg	Their unified theory of the weak and electromagnetic forces.
1984	Carlo Rubbia, Simon van der Meer	Their discovery of the W and Z particles, the carriers of the weak interaction.
1988	Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz, Jack Steinberger	Their production of neutrino beams and their discovery of the mu neutrino. Note: the discovery of the b quark is also a good topic.
1990	Jerome Friedman, Henry Kendall, Richard Taylor	Experiments that revealed the existence of quarks.
1992	Georges Charpak	His development of elementary particle detectors.
1995	Martin L. Perl	Experimental contributions to lepton physics
1999	Gerardus 'T Hooft, Martinus J. G. Veltman	Elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics.
2002	Raymond Davis, Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba	Pioneering contributions to astrophysics, and for the detection of cosmic neutrinos
2004	David J. Gross, H. David Politzer, Frank Wilczek	The discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction
1994		Discovery of the top quark
1995 - 2010		Search for the Higgs at LEP / Tevatron / LHC
2008-2020		Search for Supersymmetry at the LHC / LC
2001		Observation of CP violation at BaBar and Belle

Suggestions and Grading for Presentations and Reports