This course will use Canvas; click here for the Canvas homepage.
Unique Number: 58205
Classroom/Time: RLM 7.104, MWF 11 am-noon
Instructor: Prof. Peter Onyisi (onyisi@physics.utexas.edu).
Required material:
Martin & Shaw, Particle Physics
Povh et al., Particles and Nuclei: An Introduction to the Physical Concepts
iClicker (either physical or smartphone app)
Recommended texts and other reading:
Griffiths, Introduction to Elementary Particles: technical nitty-gritty
Riordan, The Hunting of the Quark: a history of how the quark model was won
Cahn & Goldhaber, The Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics: key historical experimental papers
Summary and goals: This class will introduce you to the basic concepts of nuclear and particle physics. We will cover the basic ideas of relativistic quantum mechanics and the interactions of particles and nuclei, building up to a survey of the Standard Model of particle physics and the open questions in the field. We will discuss the experimental techniques that allow us to extract information about the world of the very small. I hope that by the end of the class you will feel comfortable with the core ideas of how particle physics calculations are done and how we verify those results experimentally. Prerequisite: Physics 373.
Office Hours: Wed 2-3 pm, Thu 2-3 pm (or by appointment), RLM 10.211