From electrons to quarks to neutrinos to the Higgs mechanism, this course centers on a quantitative introduction to the Standard Model of particle physics---the well-tested model that describes all elementary particles and non-gravitational forces discovered up until the present. A significant portion of the class will be dedicated to learning and using the Feynman Calculus to calculate observable properties of elementary particle interactions. The course will end with a description of the Higgs mechanism and a discussion of some of the most pressing outstanding questions in particle physics.
Prerequisite Courses
Corequisites
Recommended corequisite: Mathematics and Statistics 240.