- Theoretical description of physical phenomena
- The Higgs discovery is the latest step in a long journey of discovery of the elementary constituents of matter. Before we discuss the detailed structure of matter at the smallest scales ever explored, we want to introduce some basic concepts in the more familiar framework of classical mechanics.
- A theory of matter and light
- In order to have a consistent description of the interactions of matter and light, we need a new framework. QED as an example of RQFT.
- A theory of matter and light
- In order to have a consistent description of the interactions of matter and light, we need a new framework. QED as an example of RQFT.
- From QED to QCD and the weak force
- The framework introduced for QED can be generalised to describe all four fundamental forces in Nature. Characteristic features of the strong/weak force, what needs to be modified with respect to QED.
- The Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism and the Standard Model
- The Higgs mechanism, and the construction of the Standard Model, and Higgs phenomenology.
- Experimental evidence for the Standard Model
- This week should provide an overview of experimental techniques (colliders/detectors), and results.
- Beyond the Standard Model
- Basic understanding of concepts behind the hot big bang cosmology; relevance of particle processes to early Universe cosmology; summary of cosmological observations suggesting physics beyond the standard model.
