The course is an introductory course to modern particle physics.
The first and main part of the course is an introduction to the general ideas on which the Standard Model of particle physics is built: quantum fields, gauge theories and spontaneous symmetry breaking.
The second part is about the Standard Model itself, including some development of quantum effects and a brief introduction to the theory of the strong force: QCD.
The final part is about two common extensions beyond the Standard Model: Neutrino masses and Grand Unification, as well as outlining a number of open problems in the Standard Model, leading up to the Hierarchy problem.
Syllabus
- Introduction to the Standard Model
- Elements of Classical Field Theory
- Introduction to Quantum Fields
- Interacting Theories and Feynman Rules
- Processes in Quantum Electro-Dynamics
- Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
- Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
- The Weinberg-Salam Model
- The Standard Model Spectrum and Lagrangian
- Elements of 1-loop physics: Renormalization, Introduction to QCD
- Neutrino Masses
- Grand Unification
- Aspects of Effective Field Theories
- The Strong CP Problem
- Gauge Hierarchy Problem
- Introduction to Supersymmetry