Syllabus

Professor Simon Catterall, room 309 Physics. tel 443 5978. email: smcatterall@gmail.com

(New) classroom 105. 2:00-3:20 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays

Presentations: 21 (Julian, Gizem, Scott and Cem) and 23 April (Sourav, Raghav, Suraj, Nouman) in class. Written papers due by Friday May 1.

 

Final: 28 April in class.

Here is a brief list of topics I would like to cover

  • Review of scalar fields, path integrals and perturbation theory
  • Review of fermions and spin 1 fields. QED
  • Non-abelian gauge fields – perturbation theory, quantization, renormalization
  • BRST symmetry
  • Renormalization: beta function and asymptotic freedom
  • Topological field configurations eg instantons
  • Symmetry breaking. Standard Model
  • Chiral gauge theories and anomalies
  • GUTs
  • Anything else we have time for ….

I will set a homework every two weeks which will be worth 40% of the grade. Towards the end of the semester I will get you to work on a project that you will present to the class which will be worth 40% of the grade. There will also be a brief final worth 20%. I will take material primarily from Mark Srednicki’s and Tony Zee’s books.

Possible Project Suggestions

  • Supersymmetry
  • Lattice Gauge Theory
  • Dynamical symmetry breaking
  • Quantum gravity
  • String theory
  • Anomalies: chiral, gravitational and parity
  • Grand unified theories
  • Solitons, instantons and monopoles
  • 1/N expansion
  • Strong CP problem
  • Topological field theories – Witten and Chern-Simons types
  • Something else .. talk to me …

 

Academic Integrity

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Disability Statement

Students who are in need of disability-related academic accommodations must register with the Office of Disability Services (ODS), 804 University Avenue, Room 309, x4398. Students with authorized disability-related accommodations should provide a current Accommodation Authorization Letter from ODS to the instructor and review those accommodations with the instructor. Accommodations, such as exam administration, are not provided retroactively; therefore, planning for accommodations as early as possible is necessary.

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