Prerequisites
The Part III Particle Physics Major option course aims to provide a description of the main topics in modern particle physics.
The course assumes students have some knowledge of Particle Physics from a previous introductory course of some kind. In the case of students who were in Cambridge for Part II, the relevant course would be the Particles part of Part II Nuclear and Particle Physics.
The Part II Particle and Nuclear Physics course is not officially a prerequisite, but students who have not attended that course (or a course with a similar Particle Physics content elsewhere) and who are not familiar with the overall structure of The Standard Model, the quark model of the hadrons, scattering processes, and wave equations at some level, have found the course hard in the past. Students who fit this background should strongly consider getting hold a book which follows the course most closely (e.g. Mark Thomson's) and reading up before starting the course.
contan to this course although familiarity with basic particle physics terminology is assumed. The course will concentrate on the Standard Model with the aim of providing both a detailed description of current experimental data, and the theoretical understanding to place these experimental results in context. The Minor Option course on “Gauge Field Theory” covers particle physics theory at a more advanced level.
Synopsis
Introduction, cross sections and decay rates: The structure of the Standard Model; revision of basic concepts; relativistic phase space and its role in two-body decays and two-body scattering.
Solutions to the Dirac equation: The Klein-Gordon equation; the Dirac equation and Dirac spinors; negative energy solutions and anti-particles; C and P symmetries; spin and helicity.
Interaction by particle exchange and QED: interaction by particle exchange; the QED vertex; Feynman rules for QED; scattering and e+e– annihilation in QED; the role of spin and helicity in QED and chirality; QED calculations using Dirac spinors.
Electron proton scattering: Rutherford scattering revisited; low energy electron proton scattering and form factors; deep inelastic scattering and structure functions; Bjorken scaling and the Callan-Gross relation; the quark-parton model; valance and sea quarks.
The quark model and QCD: symmetries and conservation laws; SU(3) flavour symmetry; mesons and baryon wave; SU(3) colour symmetry; confinement and gluons; Feynman rules for QCD; colour factors; the QCD potential; running couplings and asymptotic freedom; experimental evidence for QCD.
Particle Detectors: Particle interactions in matter, particle detection and large detectors at modern particle colliders.
Charged-current weak interactions: V-A Theory and parity violation; helicity structure of the weak interaction; lepton universality; neutrino scattering; neutrino structure functions and the anti-quark content of nucleon.
Neutrino physics and neutrino oscillations: Neutrino interactions; detecting neutrinos; solar and atmospheric neutrinos; neutrino oscillations and the PMNS matrix; CP and CPT in the weak interaction; recent neutrino experiments.
The CKM matrix and CP violation: The Cabibbo angle and the CKM matrix; CP violation in the early universe; the neutral kaon system and strangeness oscillations; CP violation in the kaon system; the CKM matrix and CP violation in the Standard Model.
Electroweak Unification and the Standard Model: W boson decay; the W and Z bosons and a unified electroweak theory; the Z resonance; precision tests of the electroweak theory at LEP; the Higgs mechanism; hunting the Higgs; problems with the Standard Model.
BOOKS
There are many books available on particle physics, at various levels. The following are suggested as useful for this course:
Particle Physics, Martin B R and Shaw G (2nd edn Wiley 1997). A good introductory text, more suited to Part II but covers most of the basic material.
Introduction to High Energy Physics, Perkins D H (4th edn CUP 2000).
Good coverage of experimental techniques and some aspects of theory. A slightly lower level than this course with a more historical approach.
Introduction to Elementary Particles, Griffiths D (Harper & Row 1987) out of print
Theoretical treatment, going slightly beyond the level of this course, but well written and clear. Good reference for those wishing to pursue some of the mathematical details.
Quarks and Leptons, Halzen F and Martin A D (Wiley 1984).
Goes beyond the level of this course, but provides a good description of the underlying theoretical concepts.