Lectures on The Standard Model of

Particles and Forces

Itzhak Bars

Physics 670, Fall 2006

http://physics.usc.edu/~bars

Class times: Tu. & Th. 10:00  - 11:50 AM, Room: KAP 150.
Office hours: Tu. & Th 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, or by appointment.
Links to homework or additional information

Recommended Books
R. Mohapatra, Unification and Supersymmetry : The Frontiers of Quark-Lepton Physics
C. Itzykson and J.-B. Zuber, Quantum Field Theory
M. E. Peskin and D. V. Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory
S. Weinberg, The Quantum Field Theory of Fields, Vols. I , II and III
J. D. Bjorken and S.D. Drell,  Relativistic Quantum Mechanics
J. D. Bjorken and S.D. Drell,   Relativistic Quantum Fileds
W. Siegel, Fields, hep-th/9912205
P. Ramond, Field Theory - A Modern Primer
L.D. Faddeev and A.A. Slavnov, Gauge Fields: An introduction to quantum field theory
A. Zee, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell

Additional Online Books and resources

Particle Physics Reviews, Tables and Plots (2006)
R. Mohapatra, Massive Neutrinos in Physics and Astrophysics
G. 't Hooft, 50 Years of Yang-Mills Theory
M. G. Veltman, Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics
S. Pokorski, Gauge Field Theories
Jan Smith, Introduction to Quantum Fields on a Lattice : A Robust Mate
H. Roth, Lattice Gauge Theories : An Introduction
2006 NAS report: Revealing the Hidden Nature of Space and Time: Charting the Course for Elementary Particle Physics
2003 NAS report: Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: Eleven Science Questions for the New Century.

Grading
Homework will be assigned, but will not be graded.
A final report on a related topic not covered in class, or that goes deeper into a topic covered in class, will be required to receive a grade. For an incomplete list of possible topics for a report see this link.

Course content and goals:
This course is designed to familiarize graduate students with the details of the Standard Model of Particles and Forces, its experimental successes and its open problems, and then introduce the theoretical concepts beyond the Standard Model, including supersymmetry, technicolor and compositeness, grand unification, and their possible physical consequences. 

Outline of lectures

• Free quantized fields for spins 0,1/2,1.
• Local interactions in field theory
• Global symmetry in field theory
• Spontaneous symmetry breakdown
• Local symmetry and Yang-Mills theory
• Higgs mechanism and massive spin 1 bosons
• Path integral quantization and Feynman rules
• Gauge fixing, BRST symmetry
• S-matrix, cross section, decay rate, kinematics
• Examples of computations at tree level
• Loops, infinities, regularization and renormalization
• Calculable finite quantities
• Matter and gauge fields in the Standard Model
• Mass matrices, Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, mixing angles
• Electro-weak interactions, decay and scattering processes
• QCD, asymptotic freedom and strong interactions
• Anomalies and physical consequences
• Physical successes of the Standard Model
• Precision computations and experiments
• Open problems in the Standard Model
• Grand unified theories, why and what they predict?
• Supersymmetry, why and what it predicts
• Technicolor and compositeness, why and what it predicts
• CP violation and experiment
• Massive neutrinos, neutrino mixings, and experiment
• Matter-Antimatter asymmetry in the universe
• Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe
• Looking for the Higgs boson
• What will we see at the LHC in 2008?
• What about gravity?