SYLLABUS



Course Description

Unification

Physics 610 will cover the following topics in Introduction to Electroweak Symmetry Breaking:

  • Introduction to the elementary particles and interactions
  • The Standard Model
  • Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
  • Precision Tests of the Standard Model
  • Problems with the Standard Model
  • Discovery and Measurements of the Higgs Boson
  • Extensions to the Standard Model
  • Experiments with Hadron Colliders
  • Experiments with Lepton Colliders

These topics cover the important issues in particle physics research related to electroweak symmetry breaking. Throughout the course, the interplay between theory and experiment will be emphasized.


Course Administration

Instructor: Prof. Jim Brau

541-346-4766
414B Willamette
(enter through 414 Willamette)
jimbrau at uoregon.edu

Class Hours: T/Th 10:00 am - 11:50 am

Classroom: 318 Willamette

Office Hours: M/W 10 am

Physics 610 web page: http://physics.uoregon.edu/~jimbrau/ph610-14f


Reading Material

Unification

PRIMARY STUDY MATERIALS:

Recent experimental results

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass from the H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4 leptons channels with the ATLAS detector using 25 fb-1 of pp collision data
ATLAS Collaboration
arXiv:1406.3827 (2014)

Updated coupling measurements of the Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector using up to 25/fb of proton-proton collision data
ATLAS Collaboration
ATLAS-CONF-2014-009 (2014)

Evidence for the spin-0 nature of the Higgs boson using ATLAS data
ATLAS Collaboration
Phys. Lett. B 726 (2013) 120

Precise determination of the mass of the Higgs boson and studies of the compatibility of its couplings with the standard model
The CMS Collaboration
CMS PAS HIG-14-009 (2014)


Discovery experimental results

A Particle Consistent with the Higgs Boson Observed with the ATLAS Detector at the Large Hadron Collider
The ATLAS Collaboration
Science 338, pp. 1576-1582 (2012).

Observation of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
The ATLAS Collaboration
Phys. Lett. B 716, 1 (2012)
http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.7214

A New Boson with a Mass of 125 GeV Observed with the CMS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider
The CMS Collaboration
Science 338, 1569-1575 (2012).

Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC
The CMS Collaboration
Phys. Lett. B 716, 30 (2012)
http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.7235


Theory

Introduction to Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
Sally Dawson
Lectures given at the XIII Mexican School of Particles and Fields, 2-11 October, 2008, Sonora, Mexico
AIP Conf.Proc.1116:11-34,2009
http://arxiv.org/abs/0812.2190

Unanswered Questions in the Electroweak Theory
Chris Quigg
Ann.Rev.Nucl.Part.Sci.59:505-555,2009
http://arxiv.org/abs/0905.3187

Unanswered Questions in the Higgs Bosons, Electroweak Symmetry Breaking, and the Physics of the Large Hadron Collider
Chris Quigg
Contemp.Phys.48:1-11,2007
http://arxiv.org/abs/0704.2045

Electroweak Symmetry Breaking: status/directions
Alex Pomarol
PoS ICHEP 2012 (2013) 030

Supersymmetry in Elementary Particle Physics
Michael Peskin
Lectures presented at the 2006 TASI summer school
http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.1928

Beyond the Standard Model
J. Lliopoulos
Lectures presented at 2007 European School of High-Energy Physics
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1143385/files/p139.pdf

Dark Matter and Particle Physics
Michael Peskin
J.Phys.Soc.Jap.76:111017,2007
http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.1928


Secondary Study Materials:

The Anatomy of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking I: The Higgs Boson in the Standard Model
Abdelhak Djouadi
Phys.Rept.457:1-216,2008
http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0503172

The Anatomy of Electro-Weak Symmetry Breaking. II: The Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Model
Abdelhak Djouadi
Phys.Rept.459:1-241,2008
http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0503173

Beyond the Standard Model : supersymmetry
I. Antoniadis
Lectures presented at 2008 European School of High-Energy Physics
http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1183648/files/p157.pdf

Particle Data Group Tables and Reports
http://pdg.lbl.gov/


Grading Policy

Grades will be based on homework problem sets, a mid-term exam and a final exam.


Prerequisites

This course is a one semester stand-alone course, intended for students with an interest in the underlying theoretical basis of collider experiments at the energy frontier. Students should have mastered undergraduate courses on

  • Modern physics
  • Basic quantum mechanics
  • Relativistic mechanics