Physics 661                Elementary Particle Phenomenology

Fall 2013

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SYLLABUS



Course Description

Unification

Physics 661 begins a survey of the phenomena of the elementary particles of matter and their interactions. For this term we will study (time permitting):

  • Introduction to Antiparticles, Interactions and Feynman Diagrams, and Particle Exchange;
  • Leptons and the Weak Interaction;
  • Quarks and Hadrons;
  • Space-Time Symmetries;
  • The Quark Model;
  • QCD, Jets and Gluons.

These topics cover important introductory material in particle physics. Throughout the course, the interplay between theory and experiment will be emphasized. This first quarter course ( Physics 661 ) begins the study of the field of particle physics, with further introductory material and applications to follow in the second term, Physics 662.


Course Administration

Instructor: Prof. Jim Brau

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

Class Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10:00-11:50
           with some lectures Monday 10:00-10:50 TBA

Classroom: Willamette 412

Office Hours: MW 10-11 am

Physics 661 web page: http://physics.uoregon.edu/~jimbrau/ph661-2013


Reading and Study Material

Unification

Required Textbook

Particle Physics, 3rd Edition (2008)
B. R. Martin and G. Shaw



Recommended Supplementary Textbooks and Resources
Each of the supplementary textbooks will be placed on reserve in the Science Library.

Introduction to Elementary Particles, 2nd, Revised Edition (2008)
David Griffiths

Introduction to High Energy Physics, 4th Edition (2000)
Donald H. Perkins

An Introduction to the Standard Model of Particle Physics, 2nd Edition (2007)
W.N. Cottingham and D.A. Greenwood

An Introduction to Particle Physics and the Standard Model (2009)
Robert Mann
Errata

Elementary Particle Physics in a Nutshell (2011)
Christopher G. Tully

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 the first quarter of a two quarter sequence covering the phenomenology of elementary particle physics. The course is intended for students with an interest in the underlying theoretical basis of particle physics theory and experiment. Students should have mastered undergraduate courses on

  • Modern physics
  • Basic quantum mechanics
  • Relativistic mechanics.