Physics 357/457 (now Physics 5333)
Instructor: Barbara Hale, 205 Physics
bhale@mst.edu
Text: Gordon Kane, Modern Elementary Particle Physics,
Addison-Wesley, New York, Updated Edition, 1993.
It is not necessary to purchase a text.
Copies of the lecture notes will available.
Note below References which will be useful for
extra reading on the topics
A good reference for background material:
David Griffiths, Introduction to Elementary Particle Physics,
Wiley, New York.
Course Outline:
1. The elementary particles: Quarks and leptons
2. Field Theories, Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) and
Feynman diagrams
3. Unification of the Weak and Electromagnetic Interactions
4. The Standard Model, gauge invariance and gauge bosons
5. The Gluons and the Strong Force
6. Grand unified theories and Beyond
7. Particle Physics and Cosmology
Course Structure
There will be two exams (100 points each)
plus a comprehensive final (150 points).
Homework sets will count as one exam (100 points).
Total points = 200 + 100 + 150 = 450 points.
85% = A,
70% = B.
References for Elementary Particle Physics Topics
1. Donald Perkins, Introduction to High Energy Physics,
Addison-Wesley, New York (1987) 3rd Ed.
[description of experiments & results; uses little field theory]
2. R. Hagedorn, Relativistic Kinematics, Benjamin, New York (1964)
3. I.J.R. Aitchison, An Informal Introduction to Gauge Field Theories,
Cambridge University Press, London (1982)
4. Chris Quigg, Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak and
Electromagnetic Interactions, Frontiers in Physics Lecture
Notes Series 56, Benjamin/Cummings, Reading Massachusetts
(1983) [advanced]
5. P. Becher, M. Bohm and H. Joos, Gauge Theories of Strong
and Electroweak Interactions, Wiley, New York (1984) [advanced]
6. Elliot Leader and Enrico Predazzi, An Introduction to Gauge
Theories and the 'New Physics', Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge (1983) [advanced]
7. Kurt Gottfried and Victor F. Weisskopf, Concepts of Particle
Physics, Oxford Press, New York (1984) [written for nonspecialists]
8. Particles and Fields, Readings from Scientific American, W. H.
Freeman and Co. (1980) [ a good introduction; written for
nonspecialists; see also other recent articles appearing in
Scientific American]
9. F. Halzen and Alan D. Martin, Quarks and Leptons, John
Wiley & Sons (1984)
10. New Particles Edited by J. L. Rosner, American Association
of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Reprint Books, (1981) [good review
of the history of particle discoveries up to 1981; also has some
'famous' reprints]
11. Steven Weinberg, The Discovery of Subatomic Particles,
(a Scientific American Book) W. H. Freeman (1983)
[historical approach; for nonspecialist]
12. L. B. Okun, Leptons and Quarks, North Holland, New York
(1982) [ advanced ]
13. P. Collins, A. Martin and E. Squires, Particle Physics and
Cosmology, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1991)
14. Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time, Bantam,
New York (1988)
15. Sheldon Glashow, Interactions, Warner, New York (1988)
16. Steven Weinberg, The First Three Minutes, Bantam,
New York (1977)
17. Quarks, Quasars and Quandries, Ed. G. Aubrecht, Published by
American Assoc. Physics Teachers 5112 Berwyn Rd., College Park,
MD 20740 (1987) (You can also purchase a poster from
the publisher.)
18. Gordon Kane, Modern Elementary Particle Physics,
Addison-Wesley, New York (1987), updated 1993.
19. David Griffiths, Introduction to Elementary Particle Physics,
Wiley, New York (1987)
20. W. S. C. Williams, Nuclear and Particle Physics,
Clarendon Press, Oxford (1991)
21. P. E. Hodgson, Nuclear Reactions and Nuclear Structure,
Clarendon Press, Oxford (1971)
22. J. M. Blatt and V. F. Weisskopf, Theoretical Nuclear Physics,
John Wiley & Sons, New York (1952)
23. John C. McGervey, Introduction to Modern Physics,
Academic Press, New York Second Edition (1983)
Chapters 10, 13-15
24. Arthur Beiser, Perspectives of Modern Physics,
McGraw-Hill, New York (1969) Chapters 21-24 Old book,
simple explanations.
25. Robert Eisberg and Robert Resnick,
Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei and Particles,
John Wiley and Sons (1985) Chapters 15 and 16
26. Robert Mann, An Introduction to Particle Physics and the
Standard Model, CRC Press, 2010, good reference.
27. B. R. Martin and G. Shaw, Particle Physics, Wiley, NY 2008
MORE:
Dark Matter, Dark Energy (NOVA):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyZ-TH1OnLA&feature=related
Dark Energy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jez3ato2re8&feature=related
Feynman: Numbers 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovx7whviO3k&feature=related
Feynman: Numbers 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0LCVp0C-Ck&feature=related
Feynman: Electricity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS25vitrZ6g&feature=related
Feynman, counting and thinking:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8sVailoLw&feature=related