Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics

Abstract

The Standard Model of particle physics is a monumental achievement of human ingenuity. While typically approached from the theoretical side, in this proseminar we will collect the experimental evidence upon which the Standard Model has been built.

Objective

This course integrates knowledge of all detector components (tracking, calorimetry, trigger) in discussing the experiments as a whole. It is meant to be complementary to the "Experimental Methods" course 402-0725-00L which introduces different detector technologies. It also augments the particle physics master curriculum and is meant to be followed in parallel to PPP I (402-0891-00L) or PPP II (402-0702-00L).

Content

The course will not follow the historical trajectory of experimental particle physics. It will instead try to give a modern view of the results of the experiments and show where they fit in the theoretical construction. The students will read the original papers collected in the seminal text by Cahn and Goldhaber. The theory will be distilled to the very basics using the textbook by Bettini. Introductory material: - Review of basic relativistic kinematics (Lorentz transformations, invariant mass, etc..) - Passage of particles through matter: Bethe Bloch dE/dx, bremsstrahlung, photon interactions, electromagnetic showers, hadronic showers, Cherenkov radiation, Transition Radiation Experimental papers discussed in the course: - Deep Inelastic scattering - J/psi and tau discovery - strong interaction: gluons and jets (anti-k_t jet clustering) - parity violation, neutrino observation, neutrino helicity - neutral current, W/Z discovery - number of neutrino families, muon pair production asymmetry, W+W- production - top/bottom discoveries - Higgs discovery and properties - CP violation in the kaon system - Neutrino oscillations The course is completed with in class detector demonstrations: - cloud chamber - cosmics rays with plastic scintillators - cerenkov light in water - silicon detectors

Resources