Introduction to Particle Physics (2021 - 1st semester)
Enrico Bertuzzo
(bertuzzo AT if.usp.br)
Description
This is a course for the graduate program of the Physics department of the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). The purpose of the course is to introduce the students to the Standard Model of particle physics, using the language of Quantum Field Theory. The first part of the course will be devoted to a brief description of Quantum Field Theory. We will then explore in some detail Quantum Electrodynamics, the theory of strong interactions and the theory of weak interactions. We will adopt the modern (Wilsonian) effective field theory view of quantum field theory and particle physics.
Information
During the first semester of 2021 lectures will be online. To avoid problems with unstable internet connections, the lectures will be pre-recorded and posted online. I will also make my notes available as support material for the lectures. Once per week (on Thursday at 10:00) we will have an online live session to answer questions. To avoid dead times, questions should be sent to my email address beforehand (the deadline is every Wednesday at 13:00). The first online lecture will be on Tuesday, March 23rd 2021, when we will discuss the general structure of the course and other practical details.
Attention: starting on 11/05/2021 the discussion sessions will happen on TUESDAY at 10:00
ATTENTION: SINCE I DIDN'T RECEIVE ANY QUESTION, THE DISCUSSION SESSION OF 01/07/2021 IS CANCELLED.
Discussion session 08/04/2021
Discussion session 15/04/2021
Discussion session 22/04/2021
Discussion session 29/04/2021
Discussion session 06/05/2021
Discussion session 11/05/2021
Discussion session 18/05/2021
Discussion session 25/05/2021 (with resolution of Exercise 6.6)
Discussion session 01/06/2021
Discussion session 10/06/2021 (with resolution of the mock exam)
Discussion session 17/06/2021
Notebook with psi psi -> psi psi computation
Notebook: Package-X
Exam
TEXT OF THE FINAL THE SOLUTION MUST BE SENT BACK TO ME BY EMAIL AT MOST UNTIL 16/07/2021 AT 13:00.
Mock exam
Homework assignment
Exercises are present in the lecture notes. For a better understanding of the subject, I strongly recommend to solve all the exercise (and contact me for any problem).
Notes
Notes (updated 03/06/21 - problem 7.1 eliminated, discussion added)
Exercises in a separate file (updated 03/06/21 - problem 7.1 eliminated, exercise 7.12 added)
Program
Each video listed below amounts to roughly one half of a full two-hour lecture.For simplicity I will just list below the videos.
- 0 - Particles and interactions; natural units; introduction to the idea of EFT link
- 1 - Why Quantum Field Theory? Second quantization link
- 2 - Quantum fields link
- 3 - Normalization of quantum fields/Lagrangian formalism link
- 4 - Massive and massless spin-1 particles link
- 5 - Consequences of gauge invariance/Symmetries/Antiparticles link
- 6 - Scattering and Feynman rules/Propagators and gauge fixing link
- 7 - Example: psi + psi -> psi + psi link
- 8 - EFTs link
- 9 - QED link
- 10 - Loops in QED link
- 11 - Running of e(q^2)/Measuring e(0) link
- 12 - Anomalous magnetic moment/higher dimensional operators in QED link
- 13 - Strong interaction/group theory link
- 14 - Mesons and SU(3)_Flavor/Color link
- 15 - Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD) link
- 16 - Running of the strong coupling/confinement link
- 17 - Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the U(1) model/Goldstone theorem link
- 18 - Chiral perturbation theory link
- 19 - Electroweak interactions link
- 20 - Electroweak unification link
- 21 - Gauge bosons masses/Higgs boson link
- 22 - Including quarks/The Standard Model of Particle Physics link
- 23 - Higgs potential/Yukawa Lagrangian link
- 24 - Anomaly cancellation in the SM/Accidental symmetries link
- 25 - Experimental confirmations of the SM: tree level predictions link
- 26 - Confirmations in the flavor sector/EW predictions at loop level link
- 27 - EW predictions at loop level (2)/EW parameters link
- 28 - Further consequences: number of activer neutrinos, rho parameter, FCNC link
- 29 - Higgs physics/Higher dimensional operators link
- 30 - SM drawbacks link
Suggested textbooks
I will not follow one specific book, but take material from different sources. A list of excellent books that contain some of the topics presented in the lectures is:
- M. Schwartz, "Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model"
- M. Peskin, D. Schroeder, "An introduction to Quantum Field Theory"
- S. Pokorski, "Gauge Theories"
- T. Banks, "Quantum Field Theory: a coincise introduction"
- S. Weinberg, "The Quantum Teory of Fields", Vol.1-2
- H. Georgi, "Weak Interactions and Modern Particle Theory"
- R. Barbieri, "Ten Lectures on Electroweak Interactions"