High Energy Physics

HE 215/PH 215 (AUG) 3:0

Nuclear and Particle Physics

Radioactive decay, subnuclear particles. Binding energies, Nuclear forces, pion exchange, Yukawa potential, Isospin. Neutron and proton. Deuteron. Shell model, magic numbers. Nuclear transitions. Selection rules. Liquid drop model. Collective excitations. Nuclear fission and fusion. Beta decay. Neutrinos. Fermi theory, parity violation, V-A theory. Mesons and baryons. Lifetimes and decay processes. Discrete symmetries, C, P, T and G. Weak interaction transition rules. Strangeness, K mesons and hyperons. Composition of mesons and baryons, quarks and gluons.

B Ananthanarayan

Povh, B., Rith, K., Scholz, C., and Zetsche, F., Particles and Nuclei – An Introduction to Physical Concepts, Second Edn, Springer, 1999.

Krane, K.S., Introductory Nuclear Physics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1988.

Griffiths, D., Introduction to Elementary Particles, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1987.

Perkins, D.H., Introduction to High Energy Physics (Third Edn), Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1987.

HE 316/PH 316 (JAN) 3:0

Advanced mathematical methods in Physics

Group theory, definitions and examples of groups. Homomorphism, isomorphism and automorphism. Permutation groups, group representation: reducibility, equivalence, Schur’s lemma. Lie groups and Lie algebras. Root system and Dynkin diagram. Representations of simple Lie algebras, Lorentz group. Symmetries in physical systems. Tensor analysis and differential geometry: metric tensor, Christoffel symbol, geodesic equation and parallel transport. Curvature tensor. Differential forms. Applications in physics.

Aninda Sinha

Hamermesh, M., Group Theory and its Applications to Physical Problems, Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1962.

Georgi, H., Lie Algebras in Particle Physics, Perseus Books, Reading, 1999.

Mukhi, S., and Mukunda, N., Introduction to Topology, Differential Geometry and Group Theory for Physicists, Wiley Eastern, 1990.

HE 384/SE 384 (AUG) (3:0)

Quantum Computation

Foundations of quantum theory. States, observables, measurement and unitary evolution. Spin-half systems and photon polarisations, qubits versus classical bits. Pure and mixed states, density matrices. Extension to positive operator valued measures and superoperators. Decoherence and master equation. Quantum entanglement and Bell's theorems. Introduction to classical information theory and generalisation to quantum information. Dense coding, teleportation and quantum cryptography. Turing machines and computational complexity. Reversible computation. Universal quantum logic gates and circuits. Quantum algorithms: database search, FFT and prime factorisation. Quantum error correction and fault tolerant computation. Physical implementations of quantum computers.

Apoorva Patel

Nielsen, M.A., and Chuang, I.L., Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Preskill, J., Lecture Notes for the Course on Quantum Computation, http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/ph229

Bouwmeester, D., Ekert, A., and Zeilinger A. (Eds), The Physics of Quantum Information, Springer, 2000.

Peres, A., Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods, Kluwer Academic, 1993.

HE 392/PH 392 (AUG) 3:0

Standard Model of Particle Physics

Weak interactions before gauge theory, V-A theory, two component neutrino, massive vector bosons. Spontaneous symmetry breaking (U(1)/SU(2)), Higgs mechanism and mass bounds, custodial symmetry, SU(2) X U(1) Lagrangian, GIM mechanism. CP-violation, particle-antiparticle mixing: K/B systems, S,T,U parameters and precision measurements. Topics in QCD: asymptotic freedom, operator product expansion, deep inelastic scattering and Parton model.

N D Hari Dass

Cheng, T.P., and Li, L. F., Gauge Theory of Elementary Particle Physics, Oxford University Press, 1988.

Commins, E.D., and Bucksbaum, P.H., Weak Interactions of Leptons and Quarks, Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Peskin, M.E., and Schroeder, D.V., An introduction to quantum field theory, Addison-Wesley, 1995.

Quigg, C., Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak and Electromagnetic Interactions, Benjamin-Cummings, 1983.

Georgi, H., Weak Interactions and Modern Particle Theory, Benjamin-Cummings, 1984.

Donoghue, J.F., Golowich, E., and Holstein, B.R., Dynamics of the Standard Model, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998

Sterman, G., An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, Cambridge University Press, 1993.

HE 395/PH 395 (AUG) 3:0

Quantum Mechanics III

Relativistic quantum mechanics, Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations. Antiparticles and hole theory. Nonrelativistic reduction, Discrete symmetries P, C and T. Lorentz and Poincare groups. Weyl and Majorana fermions. Scalar fields, Dirac fields. Canonical quantization, propagators, interactions and Feynman diagrams. S-matrix. Scattering cross sections, decay rates and non-relativistic potentials. Loop diagrams and renormalisation. Power counting and renormalisability. Global and local symmetries. Noether theorem.

Sudhir Vempati

Bjorken, J.D., and Drell, S., Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, 1965.

Peskin, M.E., and Schroeder, D.V., An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, Addison Wesley, 1995.

Ryder, L.H., Quantum Field Theory, Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Sakurai, J.J., Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Benjamin/Cummings, 1967.

HE 396/PH 396 (JAN) 3:0

Gauge Field Theories

Path integral formulation, generating functional, Grassmann path integrals, Yukawa theory, Abelian gauge theories. QED processes and Ward identities. Loop diagrams and renormalisation. Lamb shift and anomalous magnetic moment. Nonabelian gauge theories. Spontaneous symmetry breaking, Goldstone bosons. Faddeev-Popov ghosts. Callan-Symanzik equation, beta function. Asymptotic freedom.

Justin David

Cheng, T.P., and Li, L.F., Gauge Theories of Elementary Particle Physics, Clarendon, 1984.

Pokorski, S., Gauge Field Theories, Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Kaku, M., Quantum Field Theory: A Modern Introduction, Oxford University Press, 1993.

Weinberg, S., The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vol. II: Modern Applications, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

HE 399 Special Topics (Aug) 3:0

An Introduction to current research

Concepts and Techniques to deal with specific problems in high energy physics

B Ananthanarayan