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COURSE INFORMATION (PHYS 558)

Lecture

Lecture Hall: Physics and Astronomy Building, Room B143
Class Schedule: Tu Th 9:30-10:50am

Lecture notes will hopefully be made available, but they may be sporadic as this is the first time I have taught this class in recent memory.

Texts

There is no required text for this class, but there is one very recent text that I will likely make use of:

  • "The Standard Model: From Fundamental Symmetries to Experimental Tests", Yuval Grossman and Yossi Nir, Princeton University Press (2023). Unfortunately this is available only in hardback for $70.

Other books that I will use when discussing the strong CP problem and axions are

  • "Aspects of Symmetry" (Selected Erice Lectures),  Sidney Coleman, Cambridge University Press (1985).
  • "Advanced Topics in Quantum Field Theory: A Lecture Course", M. Shifman, Cambridge University Press (2012).
  • "Quantum Field Theory," Mark Srednicki, Cambridge University Press (2007).

I will post links to reference articles as appropriate.

Homework

There will be HWs every 2-3 weeks, and a final project. The HW sets will  posted on this web site (under Assignments & also Files). You are encouraged to discuss the assignments with classmates, and to work in groups if that suits you, but the solutions you turn in must be your own work. 

HWs should be scanned or photographed and uploaded onto Canvas. Late HWs will not be accepted except by prior arrangement.

Solutions will be posted after the due date. 

The details of the final project are as follows. The idea is for you to take a deeper dive into a topic of interest to you, possibly related to your research. You can work individually or in pairs. Please email me your proposed topic by the end of the 3rd week of classes (Friday April 12th), and then we can discuss. You can either give a 15-20 minute presentation (per person) or write a short paper. I may set aside the final lecture for presentations on your projects, or we might have the presentations at a time TBD  in finals week.

Exams

There will be no exams.

Course grade

The course grade is determined solely by the Homeworks and Final project. To obtain a 3.0 you should score on average 50% or higher, while a 90% or higher score will lead to a grade of 4.0, with linear interpolation in between.