Physics 570 Syllabus
Fall 2014


Here is a tentative course syllabus (under construction):

Week Date Topic Reading Checkpoints Homework
1 25 Aug

27 Aug
The birth of nuclear and particle physics

Introduction
L Ch. 0

L Ch. I
no CP no HW
2 01 Sep

03 Sep
Labor Day

Symmetries and Groups
H Ch. 2.1-6
L Ch. II.1-3
CP 1

Solutions
no HW
3 08 Sep

10 Sep
Strangeness and SU(3) flavor
Baryons
Discrete Symmetries C, P, T
H Ch. 2.7-11
L Ch. II.4-5
CP 2

Solutions
HW 1

Solutions
4 15 Sep

17 Sep
The Dirac Equation H Ch. 5
L Ch. III.1-3
CP 3

Solutions
HW 2

Solutions
5 22 Sep

24 Sep
QED H Ch. 4,6
L Ch. III.1-3, IV
CP 4

Solutions
HW 3

Solutions
6 29 Sep

01 Oct
Scattering amplitudes
e+e- -> mu+ mu-
H Ch 6, 14.1-3
L Ch. IV
CP 5

Solutions
HW 4

Solutions
7 06 Oct

08 Oct
From scattering amplitudes to cross sections
e+e- -> hadrons
Helicity structure
H 4.3, 6.6-7, 11.1
L Ch. IV
CP 6

Solutions
HW 5

Solutions
8 13 Oct

15 Oct
QCD
H 14.4, 8
L Ch. V
CP 7

Solutions
HW 6

Solutions
9 20 Oct

22 Oct
quark-quark scattering
e-p+ elastic scattering and the proton form factor
Deeply inelastic scattering
H 8.3-4, 9.1
L Ch. V
CP 8

Solutions
HW 7

Solutions
10 27 Oct

29 Oct
Proton structure
Parton model
Parton distribution functions
H 9
L Ch. V
CP 9

Solutions
HW 8

Solutions
11 03 Nov

05 Nov
The quarks inside the proton
Weak Interactions
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking 
H 9.3, 14.6-7
L Ch. V.6, VI.1
CP 10

Solutions
HW 9

Solutions
12 10 Nov

12 Nov
Higgs mechanism
The Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model
L Ch VI CP 11

Solutions
HW 10

Solutions
13 17 Nov

19 Nov
Electroweak interactions of fermions
L Ch VI CP 12

Solutions
HW 11

Solutions
14 24 Nov

26 Nov
Thanksgiving break
15 01 Dec

03 Dec
Low-energy weak interactions
L Ch VI.7 CP 13

Solutions
HW 12

Solutions
16 08 Dec

10 Dec


no CP
no HW
17 Final exam due: Wednesday, 17 Dec 2014, 11:00AM