Syllabus for Particle and Nuclear Physics PH 495/595

 

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.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

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

 

Course Content

            Tour of elementary particles

            Relativity and kinematics

            Elementary Processes

            Symmetries

            Scattering and Feynman diagrams

            Quantum electrodynamics

            Quantum chromodynamics

            Particles and the Universe

 

Learning resources

Required textbooks:

            Introduction to Elementary Particles by David Griffiths - ISBN-13: 978-3527406012

 

 

Evaluation of Student Performance

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/

 

There will be one midterm in the regular class time at 1PM on Friday, May 3, 2019

The final examination is scheduled for 6PM on June 12, 2019. There will be one midterm

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

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.