Postgraduate Course: Symmetries of Particles and Fields (PGPH11097)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The mathematical concepts - Lie groups, Lie algebras and their representations - underlying particle physics. The Poincare group and its representations in the description of relativistic particles. Internal symmetries, both global and local (gauged), abelian and nonabelian, along with the Goldstone and Higgs mechanisms. The Standard Model and its symmetries. |
| Course description |
- Lie Groups; Unitary and Orthogonal Groups; One Dimensional Groups; Translations and Rotations; Generators; Lie Algebras; Representations; SU(2) and SO(3);
- Real Forms; Compact Lie algebras; Killing form; Casimir Operators; Cartan subalgebra; Roots and Weights;
- Lorentz and Poincare Groups; Scalars, Vectors and Tensors; Spinors;
- Invariant Actions; Spin zero fields; Spin half fields;
- Noether's Theorem; Internal Symmetries; Conserved Charges; Stress-Energy Tensor;
- Soft and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking; Goldstone's Theorem;
- Local Symmetry; Maxwell's equations; Yang-Mills Theory; Higgs' mechanism;
- The Standard Model of Particle Physics and its symmetries.
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
52 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Degree examination, 100% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Symmetries of Particles and Fields S2 Exam | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Symmetries of Particles and Fields Resit Exam | 2:00 | |
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
52 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Degree examination, 100% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the concepts underlying the mathematical description of symmetries via groups, algebras and their representations.
- Be able to apply these mathematical tools in the context of particle physics, notably to work with the different representations of the Lorentz group and with local and global SU(N) symmetries.
- Understand the concepts of explicit and spontaneous symmetry breaking and their physical consequences, including the Higgs mechanism for mass generation for a general gauge group.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | SoPF |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Neil Turok
Tel: (0131 6)51 7067
Email: Neil.Turok@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Alexis Heeren
Tel:
Email: Alexis.Heeren@ed.ac.uk |
|
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