Course Name: Introduction to Particle and Nuclear Physics
Course Number: PH 495/595 Course Credits: 3
Prerequisites: PH 451/551 – this is a serious prerequisite,
ignore at your own risk
Course Site: https://oregonstate.instructure.com/courses/1732860
Course meets: MWF at 1PM in Weniger 304. Office hours on Tuesday at 1PM in the same
room.
Instructor: Heidi
Schellman
Course Catalog Description
Elementary particles and
forces, nuclear structure and reactions.
Undergraduate students (495)
shall be able to:
List all elementary particles in the standard model and
give their quantum numbers
Use conservation laws to determine what processes can
occur, including relativistic effects
Use Feynman diagrams to reason about branching ratios and
probabilities of processes
Describe modern accelerators and particle detectors
Graduate students (595) shall
in addition to the above be able to:
Predict
branching ratios quantitatively using Feynman diagrams
Explain
the rationale behind the design of an unfamiliar particle physics experiment
when given goals of the experiment and the experiment technology
Tour of elementary particles
Relativity and kinematics
Elementary Processes
Symmetries
Scattering and Feynman diagrams
Quantum electrodynamics
Quantum chromodynamics
Particles and the Universe
Required textbooks:
Introduction
to Elementary Particles by David Griffiths - ISBN-13: 978-3527406012
Students will be graded on
weekly homework as well as midterm and final exams.
Weekly homework will be
assigned. Problems will include text-book type problems, and also reading
assignments. Assignments and due dates will be passed out in class and posted
on the class site. Assignments turned in after solutions are posted will earn
less than full credit. Turn in partially completed assignments by the due date
and the rest later for partial credit. Pay attention to your presentation -
physical insight and clear explanations are as important as mathematical
manipulation. Clarity, logical structure, spelling, grammar, and neatness
contribute to the overall assessment. Make your solutions a model that another
student could learn from.
Students may use
Mathematica or other computer languages to do their homework. Once again, you
can discuss but not share code with others. One requirement is that units must
be carried through in calculations all the way. This may be challenging but
will always be educational.
Ground rules
· We
encourage students to work with classmates, other students, and the faculty.
However, you are expected to do this in a professional and responsible fashion.
Each student is expected to turn in assignments that have been independently
synthesized and written. This applies also to computer assignments. Ask
questions and discuss, but never simply copy answer without providing your own
synthesis and interpretation. If you have discussed a problem with a classmate,
add the phrase ``I thank for helpful discussions about this problem''. When helping your peers, do so by discussing
and explaining, not simply providing an answer to be copied.
· Solutions
from previous years are very strictly off-limits. You are on your honor not to
use them, and never to share your homework solutions with other students, now
or in the future. Likewise, the solutions are for your personal use only. You
may keep one copy in your personal files.
· Sources
must be appropriately documented. If you follow a line of reasoning from
another text, reference it properly (it will help you locate the resource
later, too). If someone else helps you solve a problem, reference that too.
· Plagiarism
- representing someone else's work as your own is unethical, but collaboration
and exchange of ideas is healthy. If you are collaborating, then avoid any
appearance of plagiarism by acknowledging sources and by writing up your work
independently.
· OSU
has a webpage devoted to the topic of student conduct. You should familiarize
yourself with this code of conduct. http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/home/
Accommodations for students
with disabilities are determined and approved by Disability Access Services
(DAS). If you, as a student, believe you are eligible for accommodations but
have not obtained approval please contact DAS immediately at 541-737-4098 or at
http://ds.oregonstate.edu. DAS notifies students and faculty members of
approved academic accommodations and coordinates implementation of those
accommodations. While not required, students and faculty members are encouraged
to discuss details of the implementation of individual accommodations.