PHS3062 - Fundamental particle physics - 2018

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Science

Organisational Unit

School of Physics and Astronomy

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alexis Bishop

Coordinator(s)

Professor German Valencia

Unit guides

Offered

Clayton

  • Second semester 2018 (On-campus)

Prerequisites

PHS3031

Recommended: PHS2081

Co-requisites

Recommended: PHS3131

Prohibitions

ASP3222

Synopsis

This unit consists of two 12-lecture sub-units and laboratory work. Key areas are:

  1. Foundations: a century of discoveries, leptons and weak interactions, neutrino oscillations, quarks and hadrons, the role of conservation laws, symmetries of space and time, and the Dirac equation.
  2. Elementary Particle Physics: experimental methods used in contemporary subatomic physics, the Standard Model of particle physics, quantum chromo-dynamics, jets and gluons, a unified description of electromagnetic and weak forces, quark mixing, W and Z bosons, the Higgs mechanism, and connections to cosmology and physics beyond the Standard Model.
  3. Laboratory work: experimental laboratory work on relevant topics.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  1. Describe concepts and perform calculations in Fundamental Particle Physics within the Standard Model, which include relativistic wave equations, symmetries and conservations laws, with applications to the electroweak and strong interactions.
  2. Solve new problems in physics related to the core concepts of the unit by drawing on the theoretical underpinnings that illustrate the physics.
  3. Perform measurements and analysis on experiments that demonstrate the theoretical physics described in this and other physics units.
  4. Produce experimental reports that present results, analyse and discuss the implications and outcomes of experimental work.

Assessment

Examination (3 hours): 46%

Laboratory work: 34% (Hurdle)

Assignments: 20%

Hurdle requirement: Students must achieve a pass mark in the practical component to achieve an overall pass grade.

Workload requirements

The workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours spread across the semester (roughly 12 hours per week) - approximately an even mixture of attendance at scheduled activities and self-scheduled study time. Learning activities comprise a mixture of instructor directed, peer directed and self-directed learning, which includes face-to-face and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study