Physics 445 Quantum Field Theory III
Location & Time: KPTC 103, T-Th 10:30 - 11:50
Course Outline:
This is the final quarter of
the one year introduction to quantum field theory. As such, it
has
more of a special topics flavor. The course grade will be based
on homework
assignments
and (perhaps) a final exam, or paper.
There are many possible topics
that we might reasonably study this quarter. This course will
revolve around the theme of the
standard model. A list of some topics that might be covered
includes:
- Gauge theory
- Spontaneous symmetry breaking
- The Higgs mechanism
- Renormalization group
- The Standard Model and possible extensions
References:
Beyong the course text book,
there are a number of other texts that might be worth perusing.
Journeys Beyond the Standard Model
by Pierre Ramond
Gauge Theory of Elementary Particle Physics
by Cheng and Li
Lie Algebras in Particle Physics by
Howard Georgi
Dynamics of the Standard Model
by John Donoghue et. al.
Another great source for
reviews and general information pertaining to the Standard Model is
the online Particle Data Group that can be found here.
We will encounter new "particle physics" units in this course. In
particular a femtobarn (yes
that's "barn") is often used in discussing cross-sections and luminosities at particle
accelerators.
A nice explanation of a femtobarn can be found here.
The physics of neutrinos is beautifully described in some lectures by
Boris Kayser available
here.
There are also nice
detailed lectures on neutrinos available here.
My scanned lecture notes
on group theory and symmetries can be found in the following three
links (these files are fairly large and the last one is most relevant):
groups1 groups2 groups3
Problem Sets:
Assignment 1
Solution 1
Assignment 2
Solution 2
Assignment 3
Solution 3
Assignment 4