Enrollment year
2020/2021
Academic discipline
FIS/02 (THEORETICAL PHYSICS, MATHEMATICAL MODELS AND METHODS)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
Curriculum
Fisica teorica
Period
1st semester (05/10/2020 - 20/01/2021)
Lesson hours
48 lesson hours
Prerequisites
The course of Quantum Electrodynamics of the M.Sc. in Physical Sciences and basic knowledge of particle physics, as obtained for instance in the course Introduction to Subnuclear Physics of the Bachelor in Physics. Knowledge of particular topics of Quantum Field Theory is welcome but not compulsory.
Learning outcomes
The course is an introduction to modern gauge theories, with the task of illustrating the basic theoretical concepts of the Standard Model of electroweak and strong interactions. At the end of the course, the student should have acquired the basic theoretical notions for a M.Sc. thesis in theoretical physics and in elementary particle physics, both theoretical and experimental.
Course contents
Internal symmetries and conservation laws. Quantum Electrodynamics as an abelian gauge theory. Non-abelian gauge invariance: Yang-Mills theories. Spontaneous symmetry breaking: the Goldstone theorem, the Goldstone model and the Higgs mechanism. Electroweak gauge theory: Lagrangian and main phenomenological implications. The Lagrangian of Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD): exact and approximate symmetries, main phenomenological aspects. Neutrino physics: neutrino masses and oscillations. Asymptotic behavior of gauge theories (additional).
Teaching methods
Lectures aimed at providing an illustration of all the conceptual and mathematical aspects inherent to each topic. Examples from recent and current experiments will be given during the lectures, in order to emphasize the link between theoretical predictions and experimental tests.
Reccomended or required readings
C. Quigg - Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak and Electromagnetic Interactions - ©1983, 1997, Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
C.M. Becchi, G. Ridolfi – An Introduction to Relativistic Processes and the Standard Model of Electroweak Interactions, Springer.
Assessment methods
Oral exam. The student will have to show to be acquainted with the formalism of gauge invariance and how it is applied in the construction of the modern theories of fundamental interactions. Also, he will have to show familiarity with the main phenomenological implications of gauge theories.
Further information
Oral exam. The student will have to show to be acquainted with the formalism of gauge invariance and how it is applied in the construction of the modern theories of fundamental interactions. Also, he will have to show familiarity with the main phenomenological implications of gauge theories.
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