Elementary Particle Physics I
Physics 8802.01, Autumn 2017
Instructor: Yuri
Kovchegov
Office: M2042 Physics Research Building
Office Hours: stop by anytime
Course Meets: Tuesdays Thursdays 11:10 am - 12:30 pm , Scott Lab, room N044.
Grader: TBA
*** First Class Meets Tuesday, August 22, 2017 ***
*** There will be no classes on Tuesday, Thursday, September 12 & 14, 2017 - I'll be out of town. ***
*** There will be no classes on Tuesday, Thursday, October 3 & 5, 2017 - I'll be out of town. ***
*** There will be a make-up class on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at the usual time, 11:10 am - 12:30 pm, but in PRB M2015. ***
Brief Syllabus (for both semesters):
- Brief introduction to Quantum Field Theory: scalar, Dirac and gauge fields, Feynman diagrams.
- Elements of Group Theory and Constituent Quark Model: groups, representations, Young tableaux, product representations; the Eightfold way, the QCD Lagrangian, SU(3) flavor and SU(3) color groups.
- Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Landau-Ginzburg theory, the Goldstone theorem, sigma-model, chiral symmetry breaking in QCD and pion as a Goldstone boson.
- Electroweak (EW) Interactions: Fermi theory of weak interactions, Electroweak SU(2) x U(1) Lagrangian, the Higgs boson and spontaneous EW symmetry breaking, CKM matrix,
e^+e^- annihilation, Z-boson decay and neutrino generations.
- Neutrino masses and oscillations.
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD): quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories, running coupling and asymptotic freedom, heavy quark potential and quark confinement.
- QCD in high-energy scattering: Deep Inelastic Scattering (e+p) and parton model, DGLAP evolution equations, operator product expansion, hadron scattering (p+p) and jets.
- Axial anomaly, instantons.
- Small-x physics and parton saturation; proton spin puzzle.
Textbook:
Recommended Reading :
Here's a list of books to complement Cheng and Li. The books are listed in the order of
increasing difficulty (more or less).
- D. Griffiths - Introduction to Elementary Particles, Google Books (this book is more of a prerequisite, as it is at a less advanced level than the course, but is a good introduction to some topics)
- D. H. Perkins - Introduction to High Energy Physics, Google Books (also an introductory-level text)
- M. E. Peskin - Concepts of Elementary Particle Physics (ditto, but has most of our main conclusions in it)
- F. Halzen, A. D. Martin - Quarks and Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics, Google Books
- H. Georgi - Lie Algebras in Particle Physics, Google Books (an excellent source on Group theory for particle physicists)
- M. E. Peskin, D. V. Schroeder - An Introduction To Quantum Field Theory (mostly Part III), Google Books
- J. F. Donoghue, E. Golowich, B. R. Holstein - Dynamics of the Standard Model, Google Books
- E. Leader, E. Predazzi - An Introduction to Gauge Theories and Modern Particle Physics, Google Books
- C. Burgess, G. Moore - The Standard Model: A Primer, Google Books
- Y. Kovchegov, E. Levin - Quantum Chromodynamics at High Energy, Google Books
- S. Weinberg - The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vol. 2: Modern Applications, Google Books
Lecture Notes (to be posted after each class):
- Introduction
- Classical Field Theory
- Canonical Quantization
- Quark Model and Group Theory
- Spontaneous Chiral Symmetry Breaking
- The Electroweak Theory
Lecture Notes for 8802.02 from Spring 2017:
- Introduction and review + Neutrino masses and oscillations
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
- Parton Model and Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS)
- Particle Production in High Energy Hadronic Collisions
- Axial Anomaly
Lecture Notes for the whole course (2009, quarter system):
Winter quarter
- Free Scalar, Dirac and Gauge Fields
- Quark Model and Group Theory
- Spontaneous Chiral Symmetry Breaking
- The Electroweak Theory
Spring quarter
- Review
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
- Parton Model and Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS)
- Particle Production in High Energy Hadronic Collisions
- Axial Anomaly
- Instantons
Homework Assignments:
Grading will be based on the HW's.
Yuri Kovchegov