The Phenomenological Minimum

Seminar series for graduate students working in HEPE / HEPT. Suggested meeting time is Fridays 11:00am - 12:00pm, in room 214 (Fishbowl). Each talk should be around 40 minutes, to leave ample time for discussion and questions.

Topics and suggested literature

Topic Contents Literature
1The Lie groups U(1), SU(2), SU(3) Defining/adjoint representations; Flavor SU(3) Robert Cahn, Lie Algebras
2Hadrons and quark model Flavor SU(3), Young tableaux, mesons and baryons Quark Model (PDG)
3Gauge theory and QCD E/M U(1), color SU(3), running coupling
4The electroweak interaction Weak isospin, SSB, Higgs mechanism
5Yukawa interaction and quark mixing Yukawa couplings, CKM matrix, CP-violating phase
6The discrete symmetries C, P, T Transformation of particle states and currents, CPT theorem Weinberg QTF I, ch. 2 & 5
7Effective Hamiltonians Δ F = 1 operators, Wilson coefficients
8Heavy quark symmetry / HQET G. Buchalla, Heavy Quark Theory
9Meson–antimeson mixing FCNCs, Δ F = 2 operators, neutral meson mixing, CPV
10CP violation in B decays CP asymmetries, determination of CKM angles
11CP violation in D decays
12CP violation in K decays epsilon, epsilon', rare K decays Belusevic, Neutral kaons
13The strong CP problem The θ angle, axions
14Flavor symmetries and flavor dynamics
15Supersymmetry Coleman-Mandula, SuSy algebra, MSSM
16Grand unified theories SU(5), SO(10)
17Neutrino masses Dirac and Majorana masses, see-saw mechanism
18Neutrino oscillations PMNS matrix, CP phases
19Higgs physics Higgs production and decay, CP and flavor violating Higgs decays
20The 2HDM
21Top physics
22Electric dipole moments Leptonic, hadronic, atomic system; SM prediction
23Cosmology overview
24Nucleosynthesis
25The cosmic microwave background
26Electroweak baryogenesis
27Leptogenesis
28Dark matter
29Dark matter direct detection
30Dark matter indirect detection
31Dark energy
32Accelerator physics
33Detector physics
34Passage of particles through matter
35Resonances
36Large N E. Witten, baryons in large N
37Renormalization
38Renormalons Divergent series, Borel transform M. Beneke, Renormalons
39QCD sum rules
40Dispersion relations
41Infrared divergences
42Jet physics
43Monte‑Carlo methods

Last updated: