Syllabus academic year 2007/2008
PARTICLE PHYSICS AND COSMOLOGYEXTF05

Higher education credits: 6. Grading scale: TH. Level: G2 (First level). Language of instruction: The course will be given in English on demand. EXTF05 overlap following cours/es: FKF050 och FKF050. Optional for: F4, F4asf. Course coordinator: Leif Jönsson, Leif.Jonsson@hep.lu.se, Fysiska inst (MN). Recommended prerequisits: FAF270 Atomic and Nuclear Physics with Applications. Assessment: In order to pass the course the home exercises should have been satisfactorily graded, the laboration should have been satisfactorily graded and the oral examination should be acceptable.

Aim
The purpose of the course is to provide a general description of the fundamental discoveries, which have been made in particle physics over the past decades and which have contributed to today’s picture of how matter is built, based on subnuclear constituents. An introduction to the quantum field theories, which were developed in order to describe the interactions between the building blocks is given. Further, the basic concepts in accelerator technology and the experimental methods, which are used in existing electronic detectors will be described. Presentations of on-going research projects in which the divisions of experimental and theoretical high energy physics participate will be given. Included in the course is also a laboration, the purpose of which is to measure the life time of cosmic muons.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

- be able to explain the relations, which leads to the present understanding of the structure of matter, and give a description of the dynamics of the constituents.

- have knowledge of the technology used for the acceleration of particles and the methods used to register and measure elementary particles.

- be able to solve simple problems in this topic, which will be distributed over the period of the course.

- be able to perform measurements in a laboration and write a report, which will be graded.

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

- show ability to draw and interpret Feynman diagrams for various reactions and to make simple calculations.

- be able to propose the method most suited for a specific measurement.

- develop capability to explain experimental measurements and results in a written report.

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

have the ability to extract the relevant information from a scientific text and be able to explain it.

Contents
Physics: A short repetition of relativity and quantum mechanics, quantum numbers and conservation rules, electromagnetic- weak-, and stong interaction, the Higgs mechanism, important discoveries and experimental tests of the Standard Model, new theories and cosmology.

Technology: acceleration technology, various accelerators, secondary beams, luminosity and collision rates, detector technology and detector systems.

Current research: presentations of current projects.

Literature
Lecture notes will be distributed by the institute.
Complementary literature:
Martin, B.R. & Shaw, G.: Particle Physics, John Wiley & Sons
Williams, W.S.C.: Nuclear and Particle Physics, Oxford Science Publications