EPP Elementary Particle Physics

EPP
PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 1
 EPP Synopsis and Aims
The discovery that the great diversity of the Universe stems from a limited
number of elementary particles acting under the influence of a few
fundamental forces is one of the most significant scientific achievements of
the last century; this forms the basis of Elementary Particle Physics

EPP is an introduction to the Standard Model of particle physics - the

strong and electroweak interactions between the basic constituents of the
world, quarks and leptons, via the exchange of gluons, photons and W and
Z particles. Recent results on CP violation and neutrino mixing. The search
for the Higgs particle. Beyond the standard model - Grand Unified theories
and supersymmetry

The main aim of the Elementary Particle Physics course is to teach the
fundamentals of the Standard Model of Particle Physics

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 2

 EPP Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the successful student is expected to:

Know what are the basic constituents of the Standard Model, the quarks
and leptons and the interactions between them and to be able to use
Feynman diagrams to classify and illustrate these interactions

Understand the conservation rules, quantum numbers and basic quark

parton model upon which the Standard Model is built

Be able to explain the basics of electroweak interactions, the Higgs

mechanism and CP violation

Understand the experimental observation of neutrino mixing and

appreciate its implications for neutrino masses

Appreciate the limitations of the Standard Model and understand how

some of these limitations are overcome in other models

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 3

 EPP Formalities
Lectures:
Monday 13 – 15 People's Palace: PP1
Tuesday 10 – 11 People's Palace: PP2

Exercise classes:
Thursday 12 – 14 Various location: check your group.

Office Hours:
Tuesday 11.00 -12.00 – Room 405 – G.O.Jones (Physics) building

Exercises: 20% Hand in

Tuesdays
Exam: 80% 4pm

Website: http://ph.qmul.ac.uk/intranet/undergraduates/module?id=22
Mirrored from QMPlus
PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 4
 EPP Website

Lecture
Slides

Interesting
Links

Weekly
Exercises

Past Exam
Papers

PHY-306 EPP 5
 EPP Textbooks

Introduction to Elementary
Particle Physics Particle Physics
Alessandro Bettini B.R.Martin and G.Shaw
Cambridge 2008 Wiley 1999
ISBN: 978-0-521-88021-3 ISBN: 0-471-97285-1

More on the website

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 6
 EPP Textbooks

there is a new edition
of Bettini's book
It covers a little better
the newer stuff like
Higgs and neutrinos.

We are buying a number of these books for the

Physics library so that you can use those copies
for studying. Will let you know as soon as this
goes through and when they are available.

More on the website

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 7
 EPP Textbooks

I have a copy of all
in case you want to have
a look at them. 

I cannot underline enough how much it is important to study on a book for

this subject. The slides will give you the guide on what to study, but lectures,
exercises and books will give you what you need to have the necessary
understanding of the subject.
We are addressing a wide subject so we cannot possibly go in details in all
its aspects. However I will try to give an overview focusing on the concepts
and giving you the basic tools to assess them.
PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 8
 EPP Attendance
Attendance is compulsory!
Some comments:
• last year (2014-2015): students have been reasonably happy
with these lectures :)
• however the attendance went significantly down as the module
was running.
• after the course some students felt they knew little about the
exam and what to study for preparing for it
– it seems to me quite logical :)
» if you don't attend, I cannot help you in focusing on the
main concepts and you cannot know what I underline in
the lectures.
» after the lectures end, it is a little too late :|

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 9

 EPP Lectures
Lectures
• the lecture slides are not going in very much details.
• for going in more details and to improve your understanding of
the subject, you need to follow the lectures and read a book.
• in general: the lectures and the slides will give you the concepts
which are what I want you to take out of this (part A of the exam)
– you should be able to understand and explain the concepts
mentioned in the slides
– if a concept is more or less important, I will underline it in
lectures!
• the newly introduced exercise classes and the homeworks allow
you to test and practice the concepts you are assimilating (part B
of the exam)

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 10

 EPP Lectures
Lectures
• lectures will follow the slides, but I'll use the whiteboard as much
as possible to explain better and to repeat live the fundamental
concepts and calculations.
• My notebook: last year students wanted scans of my notebook
so I now have them. However students then told me it was not
very useful as it is hand written and sometimes too much detailed
– you will let me know if you want them. However I cannot do
much about my hand writing or the content of that. I wrote it
for my own use :)
• suggestion hat:
– I'll take it to each lecture
– put in your ideas about what I can
improve of the course.

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 11

 EPP Exam
Exercises and exams
• part A of the exam will be focused on concepts and your basic
understanding of particles and forces as described in the
Standard Model and as studied by particle physicists.
• In exercises, numbers are important, however substitute them at
the very last step of your calculations. Use symbols as much as
possible until the very last step
– it is better to reduce stupid mistakes
– it is better for markers (and myself for the exam) who can
follow what you intended to do.
• old exams will help you but I won't reuse exactly the same
exercises, so my suggestion is to try them once you already
studied the whole programme to test what you need to revise

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 12

 EPP For doing more
Summer students programmes and more
– CERN
http://home.cern/students-educators/summer-student-programme
application deadline Jan 27th
– DESY:
http://summerstudents.desy.de/
application deadline Jan 31st
– Fermilab
https://ed.fnal.gov/interns/programs/ipm/index.shtml
https://ed.fnal.gov/interns/programs/parti/index.shtml
several programmes: deadlines Jan 11th or Feb 8th
– summer projects available at QMUL too of course.
Come and talk to me if you are interested in PP
– if you plan to be in the Geneva area, consider to come and visit
CERN:
– I'm an official CERN guide
– drop me an email and I might be able to help

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 13

 EPP Lecture Topics
Basic Concepts CP Violation
1 Introduction 18 Kaon Decays
2 Brief History of Particle Physics 19 CP Violation
3 Basic Concepts
4 Anti-Particles Neutrino Physics
5 Feynman Diagrams 20 Solar neutrinos
6 Kinematics 21 Neutrino mixing
7 Particle Accelerators 22 Neutrino masses
8 Particle Detectors
9 Quantum Numbers Beyond the Standard Model
23 Beyond the Standard Model
Hadrons and the Strong Interaction 24 Dark matter & Dark Energy
10 Hadron Hadron Interactions 25 GUTs
11 The Quark Parton Model 26 Composite Models and SUSY
12 Colour and QCD 27 Quantum Gravity and Superstrings
13 Heavy Quarks
Electroweak Interactions
14 Electromagnetic Interactions Won’t necessarily correspond to
15 Weak Interactions
16 Electroweak Theory exactly one hour lectures
17 The Higgs Particle

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 14

 EPP Roadmap
Basic Concepts 1 Introduction 2 Brief History of Particle Physics

3 Basic Concepts 4 Anti-particles 5 Feynman Diagrams 6 Kinematics

7 Particle Accelerators 8 Particle Detectors 9 Quantum Numbers

Hadrons and the Strong Interaction Electroweak Interactions

10 Hadron Hadron Interactions 14 EM Interactions 15 Weak Interactions

11 The Quark Parton Model 16 Electroweak Theory CP Violation

12 Colour and QCD 17 The Higgs Particle 18 K and B Meson Mixing

13 Heavy Quarks The Standard Model 19 CP Violation

Neutrino Physics Beyond the Standard Model 23 Beyond the Standard Model

20 Solar Neutrinos 25 Grand Unified Theories 24 Dark Matter & Energy

21 Neutrino Oscillations 26 Composite Models and SUSY

22 Neutrino Masses 27 Quantum Gravity and Superstrings

PHY-306 EPP Introduction Slide 15