Physics 528: Elementary Particle Physics

Syllabus

General Information

Outline

• Review of QFT basics and QED
• Calculation Bootcamp
• Symmetries in particle physics
• Generalizing QED: non-Abelian gauge theories
• Spontaneous symmetry breaking and the Higgs mechanism
• The structure of the Standard Model
• Electroweak and Higgs physics
• Loops and effective field theories
• QCD, from high to low energy and back
• Collider Physics
• Beyond the Standard Model

Prerequisites

• PHYS 506, 508, or 526.
  You should be familiar with obtaining Feynman rules from a Lagrangian,
  and know how to compute scattering amplitudes in QED.

Grading Scheme

• 75% Homework Assignments
• 25% Final Report and Presentation (Details)

Course Notes

0. Notation and Background
1. Review of QFT
2. Calculating Stuff
3. Symmetries
4. Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
5. Symmetry Breaking
6. The Standard Model
7. Testing the SM

Homework Assignments

0. Background and Notation (not due and not marked)
1. QFT Stuff (Jan.27)
2. Calculating (Feb.5)
3. Symmetries (Feb.12)
4. Non-Abelian Vectors (Feb.26)
5. More Non-Abelian (Mar.5)
6. Symmetry Breaking (Mar.12)
7. Standard Model I (Mar.19)

Final Project

Useful Resources:

• Particle Data Group (PDG), Review of Particle Physics (online)
• C. Burgess and G. Moore, The Standard Model: A Primer
• M.E. Peskin and D.V. Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory
• M. Srednicki, Quantum Field Theory
• M.D. Schwartz, Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model
• D. Tong, Lectures on QFT (online)
• M.E. Peskin, Concepts in Elementary Particle Physics (online)
• D.J. Griffiths, Elementary Particle Physics
• D.E. Morrissey Notes on QFT for PHYS 526 (2013 - online)
• D.E. Morrissey Notes on Physics Beyond the SM (Perimeter PSI Course - online)
• D.E. Morrissey Notes on Dark Matter (Perimeter PSI Course - online)
• D.E. Morrissey Notes on the SM for PHYS 528 (2023 - online)