Lecture schedule
Study guide
Consider this study guide covering the second half of the semester to prepare for the final exam!
| Lecture day | Number | Topics and book chapters for review |
|---|---|---|
| 5/10 | Final exam, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm following the SMU final exam schedule. | |
| 5/8 | Bonus | Q&A (?) |
| 5/6 | Bonus | Neutrino oscillations, chapter 12.3, completing chapter 12 |
| 5/1 | 25 | Weak interactions: quark sector, CP violation, chapter 12.2 |
| 4/29 | 24 | Consequences of weak interactions; Quark sector, CP violation, chapter 12.1, 12.2 |
| 4/24 | 23 | Electroweak unification, broken weak theory, completing chapter 11 |
| 4/22 | 22 | Higgs mechanism, giving the photon a mass, W- and Z- bosons, chapter 11.2, starting 11.3 |
| 4/17 | 21 | Mass scale of the weak force: spontaneous symmetry breaking, Goldstone theorem, chapter 11.1, 11.2 |
| 4/15 | 20 | V-A theory, muon decay, chapter 10.4 |
| 4/10 | 19 | Parity violation: discrete Lorentz transformation in nuclear decays, chapter 10 through 10.3 |
| 4/8 | 18 | Jets, chapter 9.3, completing chapter 9 |
| 4/3 | 17 | QCD at hadron colliders, Parton evolution and jets, chapter 9 up to 9.3 |
| 4/1 | 16 | Quantum chromodynamics, coupling, QCD consequences, completing chapter 8 |
| 3/27 | Supplementary exam | |
| 3/25 | 15 | Non-abelian gauge theories, chapter 8 up to 8.3 |
| 3/20 | 🌸 spring break 🌸 | |
| 3/18 | 🌸 spring break 🌸 | |
| 3/13 | Midterm exam | |
| 3/11 | 14 | e^+ e^- \to q\overline{q}g, thee-jet events, completing chapter 7 |
| 3/6 | 13 | Gluons, e^+ e^- \to q\overline{q}g, just reaching chapter 7.3.4 |
| 3/4 | 12 | Parton model, DIS, chapter 7 up to (not including) 7.2.1 |
| 2/27 | 11 | e+e- to μ⁺μ⁻ cross-section, e+e- to hadrons, evidence for quark color, fractional charge and spin 1/2, completing chapter 6 |
| 2/25 | 10 | QED in e+e-, e+e- to μ⁺μ⁻, chapter 6 up to 6.1.3 |
| 2/20 | 9 | Particle collider experiment, detector components, coordinates, chapters 5.2, through 5.4 |
| 2/18 | - | canceled/postponed; particle physics colloquium on Monday 2/17, 4pm @ FOSC 123 |
| 2/13 | 8 | Feynman diagrams chapter 4.3, completing chapter 4 |
| 2/11 | 7 | Fermi's golden rule, cross-sections, 2 -> n scattering, up to chapter 4.3 |
| 2/6 | 6 | Group theory and quark model up to 3.4 |
| 2/4 | 5 | Group theory: Chapter 3 up to chapter 3.2.3 |
| 1/30 | 4 | Special relativity: Relativistic wave equations up to chapter 2.2.3; 2.2.3 electrodynamics as exercise |
| 1/28 | 3 | Special relativity: Relativistic wave equations up to chapter 2.2.1 |
| 1/23 | 2 | Units in particle physics; Special relativity through chapter 2.1.1 |
| 1/21 | 1 | Syllabus & Introduction; chapters 1.1 through 1.3 |
Preliminary outline of upcoming lectures¶
| Lecture day | Number | Topic |
|---|---|---|