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PHZ 6358 - Standard Model I
Fall Term 2015

Time and Place: MWF Period 6 (12:50-13:40 p.m.), 1200 New Physics Building (NPB).

Instructor:  Konstantin Matchev

Office: 2055 NPB 
Phone:  392-5709 
Secretary: NA
Email:  matchev@ufl.edu 

Office hours: Friday, Period 5 (11:45-12:35). If these hours are inconvenient, you may simply drop by my office, chances are I will be around and will be able to help you.

Textbook:
There is no required textbook for this course. We may sometimes refer to the textbook adopted for the QFT course Michael E. Peskin and Daniel V. Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory (Westview Press). There are also identical older printings by another publisher, Addison-Wesley. The authors keep a list of known typos. We may also use the more recent books The Standard Model and Beyond by Paul Langacker; High Pt Physics at Hadron Colliders by Dan Green, and Journeys Beyond the Standard Model by Pierre Ramond. A list of other quantum field theory books can be found under the "References" link on the left. It is useful to order the free pocket version of the Particle Data Book (i.e. the Particle Physics Booklet).

Prerequisites:
A laptop running linux or unix which you can bring to class and work on during the tutorials. Some knowledge of QFT and Feynman rules. Some knowledge of computer programming.

Synopsis:
The course provides an introduction to modern collider physics phenomenology at a level accessible to both theory and experimental graduate students. It assumes only limited knowledge of basic elementary particle physics at the level of, say, PHZ 4390. The main objective of the course is to prepare the students for interpreting the wealth of Tevatron and LHC data, emphasizing both the experimental realities as well as the methods for the discovery of new physics. In addition to the Standard Model, the course will introduce the leading candidates for new physics beyond the Standard Model, including new gauge dynamics, supersymmetry, extra dimensions, etc. We will review the main motivation behind each one, identify the salient features and discuss the methods for discovery and identification at colliders. The course will also provide some unique hands-on experience with the most widely used software simulation tools in particle phenomenology, e.g. event generators, detector simulators, automated parton-level calculation programs, NLO calculators, RGE programs, etc. Time permitting, we shall also discuss theories of dark matter, methods for its direct and indirect detection, and the corresponding software tools.

Homework:
There will be approximately one homework assignment per week. Woodard's rule will apply to late homewrok, i.e. no late homework will be accepted. You may collaborate with others on the problems, but you must make a note of your collaborators (just as if you were writing a scientific paper). Noting your collaborators does not in any way detract from your grade. The homework assignments will typically require performing a lot of calculations on a computer.

Exams:
There will be no final or midterm exams. There will be a final project for each student.

Grading:
The final grade will be based on the homework assignments and exams. The course grades are not curved.

Holidays (no classes):
Labor Day (September 7), Homecoming (November 6-7), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving (November 25-28).

Last modified: 17 August 2015