Physics 199 - Some Major Unsolved Problems in Fundamental Physics

California Institute of Technology

Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

web site: http://www.hep.caltech.edu/~ajw/ph199/ph199.html

Announcements:

Course Info:

• A few homework assignments
• TWO short (4-6 page) papers on major unsolved problems in particle physics, chosen by the student and approved by the prof
• OR, ONE short paper and a small data analysis project

• Some readings will be assigned from:
  PERSPECTIVES ON LHC PHYSICS, ed. Gordon Kane & Aaron Pierce
• Other readings will be from pdf posted on the web
• Browse grad-level textbooks in particle physics

• Particle Data Group
• CPEP particle physics chart
• Particle Adventure
• arXiv.org
• Wikipedia
• Pythia

Syllabus - The Physics of the Large Hadron Collider

• Introduction – major outstanding problems in particle physics
• The Standard Model of particle physics, and its problems & extensions
  • A tour of QFT and the Standard Model
  • Symmetries, Gauge invariance
  • Spontaneous symmetry breaking
  • The Higgs
  • Fermion masses
  • The top quark
  • Grand unification, proton decay, LeptoQuarks
  • Search for the Higgs at the TeVatron, LHC and the ILC
  • The Hierarchy problem
• The LHC
  • Particle accelerators and colliders
  • Luminosity, cross-sections, reaction rates, decay rates
  • Particle detectors: vertex detectors, solenoidal trackers, calorimeters, muon detectors ...
  • Events at the LHC
• Supersymmetry
  • The last great symmetry
  • Solution to the hierarchy problem
  • Grand Unification in SUSY
  • Dark Matter candidates in SUSY
  • Finding SUSY at the LHC
• Physics at the Planck scale, Quantum gravity
  • Why is gravity so weak?
  • string theory, extra dimensions
  • KK particles, gravitons, and black holes at the LHC
• CPV and Baryon asymmetry of the universe
  • CP violation in the quark sector
  • Neutrino masses, Majorana, mixing and CP violation
  • LHC-b

Assignments, handouts, links:

• For the week of 1/8/09: read chapter 1 ("The LHC - A Why Machine" by Kane) in "Perpectives on LHC Physics".
• Assignment 1, 1/8/09, pdf, due 1/15/09 in class
• Natural units: Articles by Wilczek in Physics Today Oct 2005 and Jan 2006 and
• For the week of 1/15/09: read chapter 4 ("Understanding the Standard Model" by Mangano) in "Perpectives on LHC Physics".
• Assignment 2, 1/15/09, pdf, due 1/22/09 in class
• Wilczek's intro article on the new determination of the mass of the hadrons.
• "What is the Higgs Boson? Winning entries
• For the week of 1/27/09: read chapter 8 ("From BCS to the LHC" by Weinberg) and chapter 13 ("Anticipating a new Golden Age" by Wilczek) in "Perpectives on LHC Physics".
• Assignment 3, 1/29/09, pdf, due 2/5/09 in class
• Force: Articles by Wilczek in Physics Today
• PDG particle properties summary tables
• PDG reviews
• Assignment 4, 2/5/09, pdf, due 2/12/09 in class
• Read chapter 3 ("LHC's ATLAS and CMS Detectors" By Spiropulu and Stapnes) in "Perpectives on LHC Physics".
• Pythia example programs and output
• Assignment for week of 2/17-19/09: Study the Pythia output. Trace the hard scattering and subsequent decay of a couple of different models (eg, higgs, top pair, SUSY). Identify the final particles that make it into the detector. What is the signature for detection? (eg, high-pt leptons, MET, etc). Compile a table of cross sections for the different processes. Work through Assignment 4.
• Assignment for week of 2/24-26/09:
  • Continue working through the Pythia data analysis challenge. See notes to Lecture 13.
  • Read chapter 13 ("Anticipating a new Golden Age" by Wilczek) and chapter 11 ("Higgs Boson Searches at the LHC" by Jakobs and Schumacher) in "Perpectives on LHC Physics"
  • Start thinking about a topic for a 4-6 page paper on some aspect of LHC physics.
• CMS Physics Technical Design Report, Volume II: Physics Performance
• ILC Reference Design Report; Volume 2 - Physics at the ILC; LHC/ILC study group.
• The ILC, and the synergy between the LHC and ILC.

• Please email me an electronic version of your paper by Tuesday, March 17!
• Please fill out the online TQFR!
• Please come see me if you have any other questions, comments, or complaints about the course!

Lectures:

• Lecture 1, 1/6/09, pdf - Intro to the LHC
• Lecture 2, 1/8/09, pdf - Philosophy of particle physics
• Lecture 3, 1/13/09, pdf - Standard Model Overview
• Lecture 4, 1/15/09, pdf - Standard Model Overview, pt.2 - symmetries, mass, Higgs
• Lecture 5, 1/20/09, pdf - Major mysteries in particle physics, pt.1
• Lecture 6, 1/22/09, pdf - Hadrons, pp collisions, Major mysteries in particle physics, pt.2 (GUTs)
• Lecture 7, 1/27/09, pdf - Major mysteries in particle physics, pt.3
• Lecture 8, 1/29/09, pdf - the nature of mass
• Lectures 9 and 10, 2/3/09 and 2/5/09, pdf - Collider experiments, accelerators, detectors, events
• Lectures 11 and 12, 2/10/09 and 2/12/09, pdf - Pythia event simulations
• Lecture 13, 2/17/09, pdf - Fun with the Pythia Monte Carlo
• Lecture 14, 2/19/09, pdf - The Higgs and the Hierarchy problem
• Lectures 15 and 16, 2/24/09 and 2/26/09, pdf - Desperately seeking SUSY
• Lectures 17, 3/3/09, pdf - Extra dimensions
• Lectures 18, 3/5/09, pdf - Quantum gravity
• Lectures 19, 3/10/09, pdf - The ILC