This is the second quarter of a two-quarter survey course in particle phyiscs for graduate students. In this quarter we will focus our attention on the gauge theories that underlie the Standard Model. We will focus on the concepts and not on detailed calculations in field theory. Students are expected to have had a standard course in non-relativistic quantum mechanics, a working knowledge of special relativity, and some familiarity with relativistic quantum mechanics and Feyman diagrams.
We will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM, ordinarily in room 325 of Braunstein Hall. On occaison (including the first week of classes), we will meet in room 302 Zimmer. This is a video conference room, and I will be calling in from SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). The main textbook this quarter will be Modern Elementary Particle Physics by Gordon Kane. This is available in paperback. The ISBN number is 0-201-62460-5. I have asked the UC Bookstore to order copies, but suggest that you check the web for the best price. In addition, we will occaisonally use Introduction to Elementary Particle Physics by David Griffiths. If you have not done so already, I also recommend that you obtain The Review of Particle Properties from the Particle Data Group. The full biennial review and a pocket-sized booklet are availabe from their web site at no cost to you. The ordering information link will take you to a page with detailed instructions for ordering these items.
Some lecture notes from last year's class are on the web. I may or may not post additional notes on the web. After the first two lectures, we will tend to follow the textbook very closely, so it should not be important. If members of the class want to collaborate on a set of notes for the classes where I do not post mine, I will be happy to post those as a courtesy to the class.
Although attendance is not mandatory, you are
responsible for all material presented in class, and for all changes to
the
schedule
or plans which are announced in class.
Last year's final exam is on the web as a
postscript file.
My office at UC is room 411 in the Geology/Physics Building. My office phone number is 556-0533. My e-mail address is sokoloff@physics.uc.edu . I read e-mail frequently; we can arrange to talk by phone or video conference when I am not available in person.
The final letter grade for this course will be my best
estimation of your mastery of the material. I
expect to base it on
weekly homework assignments and a take-home final
examination.
At the moment (March 18, 2002), my plan is
to use the following:
| weekly homework | 440 |
| final examination | 360 |
| TOTAL | 400 |
The exact schedule for lectures, homework, etc.,
will depend on how long it takes to cover the material, whether there are
any school closings due to inclement weather, etc.
I will try to keep the best-guess
schedule
up to date.
However, you are responsible for all changes announced in class.
Homework
Homework will be due Wednesdays at 5:00 PM in
Yong Song's
mailbox. In general, late homework will not be accepted. Approximately
half of the problems will be selected randomly for grading, and each problem
will be graded on a scale from 0 to 20. At the end of the quarter, there
will be approximately 25 graded problems. I plan to use the best 22 in
computing your homework score. If there are fewer graded homework problems
for any reason, I will discard at least the lowest three scores. I encourage
you strongly to work with other students doing the assigned problems, and
to talk to me about how to do the problems.
However, all work you submit
must be work that you have done yourself.
Final Exam
The
final exam will be posted on the web when it has been prepared.
last significantly modified May 25, 2001
Homework assignments will be posted
no later than Thursday night the week before they are due.