The lecture is on particle physics, which aims to clarify the fundamental laws of Nature and ultimate constituents of matter. Modern particle physics is described by Standard Model, the development of which will be explained in the lecture based on historical experiments.
It is divided into general introduction to the theory and explanation about detection principles/techniques. Based on such fundamentals, a review of cutting-edge researches in large laboratories will be also given.
The aim of the lecture is to acquire the methods and knowledge of basic particle physics. Also one aims to learn about the experimental technique and the physics behind by learning about the famous experiments that led to historical discoveries. The lecture will be centered around the Standard Model, including field theory, gauge theory, quark model, electroweak theory, QCD and Higgs mechanism, as well as related experiments.
lepton, quark, gauge boson, weak interaction, strong interaction, electroweak unification, Higgs, accelerators, detectors
✔ Specialist skills | Intercultural skills | Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
The lecture is given mainly using the black board, eventually using the projector when necessary.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Particles and fields | Explain about wave functions and fields. |
Class 2 | Relativistic kinematics | Calculate the momentum of the muon from the pion decay at rest. |
Class 3 | Leptons, quarks and interactions | Explain about the different kinds of particles and interactions |
Class 4 | Lifetime and conservation laws | Which conservation laws determine the stability of various particles? |
Class 5 | Scattering experiments and accelerators | Learn about scattering and cross sections, and principle of various accelerators. |
Class 6 | Particle detection and measurement principle | Explain about the interaction of particles in matter. |
Class 7 | Detectors in action | Give an example of particle detector and explain its principle. |
Class 8 | Quantum elecrodynamics | Why is Yukawa's interaction short-range compared to electromagnetic interaction? |
Class 9 | Quark model and new particle discoveries | Learn about mesons and baryons, and understand why new quarks were postulated. |
Class 10 | Weak interaction | Derive the muon lifetime from dimensional analysis. |
Class 11 | Strong interaction | Give examples of phenomena where perturbative and non-perturbative QCD are applicable. |
Class 12 | Electroweak interaction - charged and neutral currents | Give an example where the four-fermion contact interaction diverges. |
Class 13 | Electroweak unification - Weinberg angle and gauge bosons | What is Weinberg angle? |
Class 14 | Higgs mechanism and Higgs particle | How do you produce and measure Higgs bosons? |
Class 15 | Beyond the Standard Model | Why is Standard Model regarded incomplete? |
Not specified.
Y. Watanabe, "Introduction to particle physics", Baifukan (in Japanese)
Y. Nagashima, "Fundamentals of particle physics I, II", Asakura Shoten (in Japanese)
D. H. Perkins, "Introduction to High Energy Physics", Cambridge University Press (also in Kindle Store)
Exercise problems and final report
Basic knowledge on quantum mechanics