Elem Particle Physics

Catalog description

An introduction to modern elementary particle physics, with an emphasis on the Standard Model, its phenomenology, and dynamics. The Standard Model explains, in principle and with remarkable success, virtually all phenomena that are observed in nature except gravity. The course begins with a qualitative examination of the electromagnetic, strong, and weak interactions and an introduction to the elementary particles through the use of Feynman diagrams. This is followed by relativistic kinematics, the quantum theory of angular momentum and spin, discrete symmetries, and bound states of leptons and quarks, with a focus on the hadrons. Finally the Dirac equation, the Feynman calculus, and the mathematical tools needed to calculate basic decay lifetimes and cross sections involving the electromagnetic and weak interactions are developed and applied.