Part II Particle Physics

Dr Mark A. Thomson

Lent Term 2004

For my new (2006-) Part III Major Option Course, follow this link

	Course synopsis
	Examples Sheet (ps) (pdf) Question 16 with answers
	Part II Examples Class Problems: (ps) (pdf) Hints: (ps) (pdf) Answers: (ps) (pdf)
	Part III Examples Class Problems: (ps) (pdf) Answers: (ps) (pdf)
	Corrections (none so far)
	Interesting particle physics links

Lecture transparencies (available online after lectures)

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Introduction To The Standard Model: Historical introduction patterns/symmetries and models of the fundamental entities. Elementary particles - the modern view (quarks, leptons, antiparticles, hadrons). Forces of nature (electromagnetic, strong, weak, gravity). Gauge Bosons (photon, gluon, W^± and Z⁰, graviton). Strength and range of interactions. Natural units. Four vectors. Klein-Gordon equation and anti-particles. Revision of particle scattering in Quantum Mechanics.


The Electromagnetic Interaction: Introduction to virtual particle exchange, propagators and Feynman diagrams. Electromagnetic interaction vertices (Quantum Electrodynamics). Some examples of pure QED processes. e⁺e^- annihilation


Strong interaction: Quantum Chromodynamics. The strong force, gluons and colour. Properties of QCD; quark confinement, hadronic jets, asymptotic freedom and bound quark states. Strong interaction vertices. Experimental evidence for gluons, colour and the running of the strong coupling constant.


Quark Model of Hadrons: Discovery of the J/Psi. Resonances, particle decay and lifetimes, partial widths. The charmonium system.. Bottomonium and the b quark. C and P discrete symmetries. Models of light quark mesons. Quark structure of baryons. Meson and baryon masses and magnetic moments.


Spin, Helicity and the Dirac Equation: Relativistic quantum mechanics. The Weyl equations and Weyl spinors. Antiparticles, spin and helicity. Spin in e⁺e^- annihilation. The Dirac Equation . Dirac spinors . Lorentz structure of the interactions .


Weak Interaction: Fermi Theory of beta-decay. Beta decay and parity violation. V-A theory. Origin of parity violation. Helicity in charged pion decay. W bosons and the charged weak current. Weak interaction of leptons and quarks. Weak interaction vertices. Cabibbo supression and the CKM matrix.


Electroweak Unification: Electroweak Unification and the Glashow-Weinberg-Salam Model. The weak neutral current and the Z⁰ resonance. Particle detection using the Opal detector as an example. Precision tests of the Standard Model at the Large Electron Positron collider (LEP).


The Standard Model and Beyond: Implications of current data. A brief history of the top quark. Neutrino oscillations, neutrino masses and neutrino detection. The Higgs Boson and its (non-)discovery. Grand Unification and Supersymmetry (if time allows). The many remaining mysteries.



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MAT, 17-Oct-2004