Introduction to Particles and Nuclei Syllabus
Instructor
Liron Barak
Email :lironbarak1@mail.tau.ac.il
Academic Year, Semesters
2017-2018, 2nd
Number of Hours/ Credits :3/4
Mandatory/Elective
Mandatory
Prerequisites
Quantum1
Year in program & how often given, if relevant
3rd, every year
Course overview – short abstract
The course introduces our current understanding of fundamental physics as encoded in the standard model, and the basic theoretical and experimental techniques used in current particle-physics research.
- Prerequisites – special relativity, symmetries
- Introduction to basic concepts and the standard model
- Properties of decays and cross sections
- Interactions of particles with matter
- Particle accelerators and detectors
- Quantum relativistic equations (Dirac, Klein-Gordon)
- Lagrangians, gauge interactions and the Higgs mechanism.
- Physics beyond the standard model
- Nuclear radioactivity
- Nuclear models and structure
Assessment: coursework and grade structure
Assignments – 10%
Final exams – 90%
Week-by-week content, assignments and reading
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: The Standard Model
Week 3: Decays and Scattering
Week 4: Accelerators and Colliders
Week 5: Maxwel and Klein-Gordon equations
Week 6: Particle detection
Week 7: Dirac equation
Week 8: Gauge theory, QED and QCD
Week 9: EW theory no Higgs
Week 10: Higgs mechanism
Week 11: Flavor physics
Weeks 12-14: Nuclear structure
Required text – in language of origin (if Hebrew or Arabic, no need to translate it)
Introduction to Elementary Particles, Griffiths
Quarks and Leptons, Halzen and Martin
Introduction to Elementary Particles, Perkins
Modern Particle Physics, Thomson
Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics, Das and Ferbel
The Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics, Cahn and Goldhaber
Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak, and Electromagnetic Interactions, Quigg
