GW Department of Physics

Last changed 26 April 2018. 

Everything online: revised slides, movies, notes. SCript frozen until next  course.

Previous change: Pions and Nucleons online, but will likely suffer amendments/restructuring.

Watch this space for changes.

PHYS 6610: Nuclear and Particle Physics I (Dr. Harald W. Griesshammer)

Lectures: Tuesday, Thursday 14:00 to 15:30 in Corcoran 309. All lectures are 90 minutes, so that there is plenty of time for Q&A; equivalent to 3 credits.

"Snow Days" (possible slots for rescheduled lectures): Fri 12:30 to 14:00 in Corcoran 309, and "Surgery" is bumped to 16:00.

Homework Due: Thursdays at 12:00 sharp

Surgery hours: Start Fridays at 12:30 in Corcoran 309 (unless "Snow Day lecture; then Surgery at 16:00). Lasts till all questions are answered.

Additional office hours by appointment after 3pm in my office. Email what and when to discuss.
email: hgrie <at> gwu.edu

Audience

Graduate students above the 3rd semester.

Goals

Introduction to theory and experiment of the standard model of elementary particle physics of strong and electro-weak interactions and survey of Nuclear and Particle Physics from very low energies to its frontiers: Review of experimental and theoretical tools; observed phenomena and evidence for particles, symmetries and interactions; summary of present theoretical understanding in scale-appropriate descriptions. Embedded into the overview, the course addresses topics relevant to research at GW. Focus on skill-building, symmetry principles, controlled approximations and concepts at the fore-front of research. This course will not detail all of Nuclear and Particle Physics but survey the field's breadth such that those
interested can delve in more details at their own discretion.

Prerequisites

The core lectures; in particular: The many facets of scattering; special relativity, relativistic classical and quantum field theory (tree-level QED, Feynman rules, etc.). Especially useful to refresh your memory is Dr. Haberzettl's Quantum Mechanics script, whose contents will be taken for granted.

Conventions, some Oft-Overlooked Essentials and a Summary of Electron Scattering can be found in this .pdf.

Exams and Grading

The final grade is a sum of: 

In order to pass, you need at least 60% of all points. You will also need at least 50% of the points available in each of the three components
separately. In particular, you need at least 50% of all points in all Problem sheets together (not per sheet!). An excellent score usually starts at 80% of all points. Exams are closed-book. A sheet with some possibly relevant mathematical formulae will be provided by me in the days before each exam.

Possible Final Presentation Topics

This is an inclomete list, being augmented as we move along. You can pick your own topic (even when not on the list), but need approval from the instructor. Projects with a "(T)" are already taken.

Exercises/Homework

Problem sheets are posted online Thursdays on this web-site (see below).
Drop hardcopies in my pigeon-hole in the Physics office, or mail to hgrie <at> gwu.edu .
Graded solutions are returned and discussed during the next Surgery hour.
Handwritten solutions must be on 5x5 quadrille ruled paper; electronic solutions must be in .pdf format.
Use of a "lab-book'' or "journal'' for homework is strongly encouraged. 

Contents

Syllabus: More Information/Bibliography

The only authoritative version of the syllabus contains much more information and is available as as .pdf-file: nupa-18I.information.pdf.

Bibliography

You will not be able to find all aspects of the lecture explained well in only one textbook. Moreover, it is an essential part of the learning process to view the same topic from different angles, i.e. using different textbooks.  As [J. Nearing: Mathematical Tools for Physics, p. vii] writes: "It is always useful to get a second viewpointbecause it's commonly the second one that makes sense -- in whichever order you read them." Here is a list of those which I found most useful. If you discover others, tell me.  

The Class schedule lists for each lecture recommended readings. 

An asterisk * indicates titles on Course Reserve at Gelman Library, with max. 3 days for loan. Be social.

Required Reading

[PDG] Particle Data Group: Review of Particle Properties, over 1500pp. The consolidated relibale up-todate information of hadron, lepton and gauge boson properties (nearly no nuclei). At least as useful but often overlooked are the reviews with collections of useful formulae, plots, figures, and guide to further literature. You need it to complement any textbook with present-time information in an everchanging field. Present print edition 2016; present online edition is 2017, reviews updated to 2018. Updated online every Summer, new print edition in the Summer of every even year. Order hardcopy for free from pdg.lbl.gov (order the free "Particle Physics Booklet" as well -- it does actually fit into a pocket); online edition: pdgLive.lbl.gov.

GW Lecture Notes Material is prerequisite for this course, but you may be more familiar with other sources.
     

[Hab] H. Haberzettl: Quantum Mechanics with Introduction to Quantum Field Theory -- Lecture Notes; version May 2013. Available upon     request from the author.
[MM]  H. W. Grießhammer: A Manuscript of the Graduate Lecture on Mathematical Methods of Theoretical Physics; version December          2013. Online at author's website.
[Edyn] H. W. Grießhammer: A Manuscript of the Graduate Lecture on Electrodynamics and Classical Field Theory; version May 2012.           Online at author's website.

Books on which the course is (mostly) based: Phenomenology
Select at least one; insufficient theoretical concepts for a graduate course.

[PRSZR] B. Povh, K. Rith, C. Scholz, F. Zetsche, W. Rodejohann: Particles and Nuclei -- An Introduction to the Physical Concepts; 7th ed., Springer 2015, ca. US$80. "Standard text" for this kind of course, between graduate and undergraduate level. At times, formulae used are presented without proper motivation. Large enough to cover all aspects but small enought that one does not get lost completely.
[HG] E. M. Henley, A. Garcia: Subatomic Physics; 3rd ed., World Scientific 2007, ca. US$70. The "other standard text" for this kind of course. More detailed than [PRSZR] and more for undergraduates.

Books on which the course is (mostly) based: Theory Select at least one; insuficient experimental concepts for a graduate course.

[HM] F. Halzen, A. D. Martin: Quarks and Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics; Wiley 1984, ca. US$70. Although its experimental portions are slim and outdated by now, its presentation of the theory going with them is very good. You learn to do simple Feynman diagram calculations, cross sections, etc. Well suited for experimentalists, and for theorists who studies this long ago and need to be reminded. May be dificult to get new.
[CL] T.-P. Cheng, L.-F. Li: Gauge Theories of Elementary Particle Physics; Clarendon Press 1988, ca. US$80. Thorough reader of the theory side of the Standard Model. Nothing about Nuclear Physics.
           
Further books useful for this course: Theory and Phenomenology
   
[Per] D. H. Perkins: Introduction to High Energy Physics; 4th ed., Cambridge University Press 2000, ca. US$70. An instant classic. Nothing about Nuclear Physics.
[Tho] M. Thomson: Modern Particle Physics; Cambridge University Press 2013, ca. US$75. More tuned to upperlevel undergraduates without QFT knowledge, and for my taste at times somewhat convoluted, but very nice figures and up-to-date. Nothing about Nuclear Physics.
[Ber] C. Bertulani: Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell ; Princeton University Press 2007, ca. US$75. The only halfway decent and acceptably modern book on Nuclear Physics I found (entirely my bias). The biggest probmen is that Nuclear Physics books in general quickly sketch a bit about the few-nucleon system and then turn to the heavy nuclei for the remaining 90%. This one is a rare exception, but still does not cover adequately the modern developments, especially of Effective Field Theory. The reason for that may well be that this is cutting-edge research where much will be outdated in 5 or 10 years, so it is diffcult to condense into textbooks.
[EW] T. Ericson, W. Weise: Pions and Nuclei; Oxford University Press 1988, only used or in libraries. While ignorant of any modern development, this is a very nice source especially of the more traditional treatment of the pion-nucleon interaction. For the specialised reader.
[TW] A. W. Thomas, W. Weise: The Structure of the Nucleon; Wiley-VCH 2001, ca US$140. Possibly the last book without a low-energy treatment based on EFT, this is nonetheless an excellent summary of all known about the nucleon, especially at medium energies. For the specialised reader.
[SS] S. Scherer, M. R. Schindler: A Primer for Chiral Perturbation Theory; Springer 2011, ca. US$70. The  first book-form account of chiral Effective Field Theory focuses on the purely mesonic sector, but also talks about the pion-nucleon interaction. Highly pedagogical, plenty of no-too-diffcult exercises with detailed solutions; this is for the motivated self-studier and future low-energy theorist. Schindler was a postdoc in our EFT group.
[TALENT] R. Furnstahl, A. Schwenk: 2013 TALENT/INT Course on Nuclear Forces and Their Impact on Structure, Reactions and Astrophysics, online. Pedagogical INT summer programme of the modern trends in Nuclear Physics. First half focuses on few-nucleon systems at low energies. Online videos, slides, manuscrips, exercises.
           
Further books useful for this course: Experimental Methods
  
[Leo] W. R. Leo: Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments -- A How-To Approach; Springer 1987 , ca. US$100. Still on nearly every experimentalist's shelf.
[Tav] S. Tavernier: Experimental Techniques in Nuclear and Particle Physics; Springer 2010 , ca. US$55. Appears to be a very good update of [Leo].
[Kno] G. F. Knoll: Radiation Detection and Measurement, 4th ed.; Wiley 2010, ca. US$200. Just for looking, not for buying.

Further books useful for this course: Quantum Field Theory Not central to the first semester, but to the second one.
  
[PS] M. E. Peskin, D. V. Schroeder: An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory; Perseus Books 1995, ca. US$75. A standard text for Quantum Field Theory. Nothing about Nuclear Physics.
[Ryd] L. H. Ryder: Quantum Field Theory; 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press 1996, ca. US$75. Another, slightly more modern standard text for Quantum Field Theory, covering material in less excruciating detail. Nothing about Nuclear Physics.
[LB] T. Lancaster, S. J. Blundell: Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted Amateur; Oxford University Press 2016, ca. US$45. The scope appears to be for people who want to understand and not go into gory details. Tell me how you like it.

Online Resources: Click on Link to Access
   
[arXiv] arxiv.org: the Physics preprint server.
[inspire] inspirehep.net: the High Energy Physics information system. Access to pretty much every article since 1980. 
[NN] nn-online.org: the Nijmegen PartialWave database and analysis website, mostly for nucleon-nucleon scattering.
[DAC] gwdac.phys.gwu.edu: the Data Analysis Center at GW, maintains the SAID Partial-Wave Analysis Facility and further analyses and databases for mesons, baryons and their interactions.
          
Further reading as needed and advertised.
 


Class Schedule (no exact match, but an outline how we hope to progress)

Date Topics (link to .djvu-file with manuscript) Suggested Reading Exercises
. Revisit your graduate course notes: scattering; special relativity, relativistic classical and quantum field theory (tree-level QED, Feynman rules, etc.) reference is to chapter numbers, e.g. [HM 1] = Halzen/Martin sect.1
Syllabus
16 Jan, Tue
lecture 1
Syllabus & Philosophy
Part I: Tools
Introduction and Basics:
historical note;
units & conventions;
Standard Model building blocks, typical scales, interactions;
Beyond the Standard Model
slides on bureaucracy
[HM 1]
[HG 1], cursorily: [HG 5]
[PRSZR 1]
slides, notes
Handout: Conventions, Some Bare Essentials and Electron Scattering
Problem sheet 1: Warm-Up
due
18 Jan (Thu) 12:00
18 Jan, Thu
lecture 2
Particle Sources:
non-accelerator sources (cosmic rays etc);
charged particles in electric and magnetic fields;
linear accelerators, cyclotrons, synchrotrons, colliders/storage rings;
beam stability;
secondary beams;
beams of the future?;
CEBAF@TJNAF, MAMI, HIGS
[HG 2, 19.5] [PDG 29, 30, 37]
slides, HIGS movie
Problem sheet 2
due 25 Jan
23 Jan, Tue
lecture 3
Detectors:
passage of radiation through matter;
spectrometers;
position measurements (wire chambers etc); calorimeters;
Cerenkov counters;
Crystal Ball and A-1 at MAMI, CMS at LHC
[HG 3,4] [PDG 33-35]
slides

25 Jan, Thu
lecture 4
Quantum Field Theory Recap:
fields, Lagrangean, Noether Theorem;
complex Klein-Gordon field and scalar QED;
pragmatic approach to Feynman's perturbation theory
[HH QM-II] [Edyn Fields] [Ryder 2-4]
video of the Coleman course on QFT, Harvard 1975/76 (follow link there for script)
slides (just 2 quotes), notes
Problem sheet 3
due 01 Feb
30 Jan, Tue
(postponed 2  Feb)
no lecture (unless inclement weather; Griesshammer on assignment)

.
01 Feb, Thu
lecture 5
Quantum Field Theory Recap (cont'd):
pragmatic approach to Feynman's perturbation theory;
massless spin-1 field (electromagnetism);
massive spin-1 field;
fermionic field (Dirac equation, helicity, QED)
see above Problem sheet 4
due 08 Feb
02 Feb, Fri
12:30 Cor 309
special date
(Surgey at 16:00)
lecture 6
Quantum Field Theory Recap (cont'd):
fermionic field (Dirac equation, helicity, QED);
popular interactions and their Feynman rules
Discrete Symmetry Operations:
parity; charge-conjugation; time-reversal; TCP theorem
see above
Feynman rules of a few popular interactions


TCP: [HG 9.1-5]
notes

06 Feb, Tue
lecture 7
Scattering and Decay of Particles:
relativistic kinematics, Mandelstam variables;
scattering for theorists (luminosity, beam time)
[HH QM-II] [HM 4.3]
slides, notes

08 Feb, Thu
lecture 8
Scattering and Decay of Particles (cont'd):
scattering for experimentalists (from phase space & transition amplitude to cross section);
particle decay;
resonances
see above
"canonical" cross section via Golden Rule: [PRSZR 4]
decay/resonances:
[HG 5.7/12] [HM 2.10, 4.4] [PDG 46, 46.5, 47]
Problem sheet 5
due 15 Feb
13 Feb, Tue
lecture 9
Theory of Electron Scattering:
as analysis tool;
on Coulomb potential and form factor;
on spin-0 target (Mott & structure)
[HM 4, 6.1/3-6/9/11/13, 8]
slides, notes
.
15 Feb, Thu
lecture 10
Theory of Electron Scattering (cont'd):
on massive point-like fermion;
on proton target;
inclusive inelastic scattering;
crossing symmetry;
summary
Wrap-Up of Part I: Tools
see above
Problem sheet 6
due 22 Feb
20 Feb, Tue
lecture 11
Part II: Phenomena
Shapes and Masses of Nuclei:
definition rms radius from form factor, converting form factors to charge distributions, Fermi function, numbers;
example spin and deformation: the deuteron;
inelastic nuclear scattering;
Bethe-Weizsäcker (semi-empirical) mass formula/Liquid Drop Model, application: nuclear fission;
cursory look at collective models and shell models;
first look at the nuclear phase diagram: liquid-gas transition

[PRSZR 5.4, 2.3, 3.1/3]
[HG 6.3/4, (14.5), 16.1]
slides




cursorily [PRSZR 18, 19]

22 Feb, Thu
lecture 12
Hadron Form Factors:
Breit Frame interpretation;
Rosenbluth separation, polarisation transfer method;
proton, neutron form factors;
meson-cloud "model";
meson form factors;
list of accomplishments;
proton radius puzzle
[HM 8.2 (th)] [HG 6.5/6] [Tho 7.5] [Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 54 (2004) 217]
slides, notes
Problem sheet 7
due 01 Mar
27 Feb, Tue
lecture 13
(Nucleon) Resonance Region and Isospin:
the Resonance Region;
quasielastic scattering in Nuclear Physics;
nucleon resonances;
isospin in Nuclear Physics/in Particle Physics;
coupling isospin multiplets
[PRSZR 2.4, 6.2, 7.1/4]
[HG 6.8, 14.2, 8.4-7]
[Per 3.12] [HM 2.6/7] [PDG 47]
slides, notes
.
01 Mar, Thu
lecture 14
(Nucleon) Resonance Region and Isospin (cont'd):
isospin invariant interactions;
photons and isospin;
a doublet of "quarks": isospin wave functions, some pitfalls of the Constituent Quark Model
(last relevant for midterm)
see above
Problem sheet 8
due 08 Mar
06 Mar, Tue
lecture 15
Deep Inelastic Scattering and Partons:
experimental evidence for scaling;
basics of the parton model;
from parton distributions to structure functions;
nucleon constituents of the parton model;
PDFs in nuclei: EMC effect;
quick note on Wigner, Generalised Parton & Transverse Momentum Distributions
[HM 9] [PRSZR 7.2, 8.1/4-5]
[HG 6.8-10]
slides
.
08 Mar, Thu
lecture 16
e+ e- Annihilation into Leptons and Quarks:
leptoproduction;
nonresonant hadron production, with quark picture;
resonant hadron production at low energies (vector meson dominance);
multiplets, constituent quark model (brief and disparaging);
phi-meson and strange quarks;
resonant hadron production at high energies: quarkonia

Wrap-Up of Part II: Phenomena
[PRSZR 9.1/3] [PRSZR15/16 (cursorily)] [HG 10.9, 15.1-7]
[HM 11.1-3] [Tho 9.6]
slides
Problem sheet 9
last for Midterm:
special due
19 Mar, Mon
08:00
13/15 Mar, Tue/Thu
Spring Break


19 Mar, Mon
10:00 Cor 309

Lecturer's Question Time
(please indicate possible topics beforehand)


20 Mar, Tue
lecture 17
Part III: Descriptions
Non-Abelian Gauge Theories:
the Abelian case: QED;
constructing NAGT: gauge-covariance of the gauge-covariant derivative;
non-Abeilan gauge field tensor;
Gauß' law and other interpretations;
Feynman rules, QCD, Gell-Mann matrices;
Historical Notes
[HM 14.1-4, 2.15] [HG 12.3] [CL 8.1]
slides, notes

21 Mar, Wed
10:00 Cor 309
Mid-Term Exam:
2:00 hours, closed-book, sheet with mathematical formulae provided.


22 Mar, Thu
lecture 18
Perturbative QCD:
QCD with small coupling as ideal world;
QCD colours and inter-quark potentials:
white/colour neutral quark states,
opposite colours attract, colour flow,
potential for white mesons and white baryons;
running coupling in QED and QCD: asymptotic freedom and infrared slavery

group theory: see e.g. this link to the MathMeth script
[PRSZR 8.1-3, 14]
[HM 2.15, 10.3-9, 11.4/6-7] [Tho 10.7/8] [HG 12.3]
[Ryd 3, end of 9.6]
[PS 16.7] [Per 6.5]
(running coupling draws from
[Ryd, end of 9.6] [PS 16.7] [Per 6.5])
slides, notes
Problem sheet 10
due 05 Apr
23 Mar, Fri
12:30, Cor 309
special date
lecture 19
Perturbative QCD (cont'd):
quarkonia and perturbative QCD;
QCD-inspired phenomenological potentials;
perturbative QCD in e+e- Annihilation (3 and 4 jets);
in proton-antiproton collisions (qq-scattering);
in PDFs (DGLAP-WW evolution equations)
see above
27 Mar, Tue
lecture 20

Lattice QCD:
Path Integral formulation of QM;
PI on a Computer: Wick rotation, interpretation as statistical partition function in 4 spat. dimensions, discretisation, continuum and thermodynamic limits;
free scalar and fermion fields, fermion doubling;
QCD on the lattice: link variables, plaquettes;
outline of lattice computations: ensembles, relaxation, measurements and "plateau plots";
path integral: [Ryd 5]
[Sakurai: "Modern QM" 2.5]
lattice: [CL 10.5] [PDG 18]
[Wagner et al. arXiv 1310.1760]
[Kenway lectures at CERN]
slides, notes

29 Mar, Thu
pre-poned to
23 Mar, Fri
no lecture (Griesshammer on assignment)

03 Apr, Tue
lecture 21
Lattice QCD (cont'd):
heavy-quark potential for strong coupling (confinement);
some selected problems of lattice QCD
see above






.
05 Apr, Thu
lecture 22
Lattice QCD (cont'd):
some lattice results: static heavy-quark potential, flux tube movies, spectroscopy of baryons, mesons, glueballs, electic hadro polarisabilities, scattering phase shifts, few-nucleon systems

Weak Interaction & Glashow-Salam-Weinberg:
Phenomenology and classical experiments: leptonic, semi-leptonic, hadronic;
parity violation experiments;
see above





phenomenology: [PRSZR 10,(11),12,18.6] [Per 7.1-6]
theory: [Ryd 8.3-5] [CL 11,12]
[Per 7, 8, 5.4]
most up-to-date:
[PDG 10, 12, 14 and reviews inside listings]
slides, notes
Problem sheet 11
due 12 Apr
10 Apr, Tue
lecture 23
Weak Interaction & Glashow-Salam-Weinberg (cont'd): philosophy of the GSW theory; Glashow-Salam-Weinberg for 1 lepton family;
dynamical mass generation: Higgs-Kibble-Englert mechanism in QED and GSW
see above




.
12 Apr, Thu
lecture 24
Weak Interaction & Glashow-Salam-Weinberg (cont'd):
Higgs status 2018;
Low-energy version: Fermi theory/V-A;
quark universality: Cabibbo and CKM mixing of weak and mass eigenstates;
lepton mixing, neutrino oscillations and neutrino masses, SNO experiment;
numbers and features of the GSW theory;
differences beyween GSW and QCD;
Summary of the Standard Model
see above Problem sheet 12
due 19 Apr
17 Apr, Tue
lecture 25
Pions and Nucleons:
Low-energy Nuclear Physics: Compexity, Patterns and Bridge to QCD;
Effective Field Theories: Weinberg's "Folk Theorem", What is "Low Energy", list of EFTs;
Effective Range Theory as Effective Field Theory, residual cutoff dependence;
Why the Sky Is Blue;
EFT Cookbook, Know You Limits
Goldstone: [CL 5] [Ryd 8.1-3]
chiral EFT: [SS] [EW 9]
traditional: [EW 2-4]
mixed: [Ber 2,3]
lectures 1-6 of Fleming’s EFT online course at MIT
 more bibliography here (dated)
-- or see me
slides, notes.
.
19 Apr, Thu
lecture 26
Pions and Nucleons (cont'd):
Separation of Scles in Nuclear Physics;
Chiral Symmetry and its breaking: pion is special, chiral symmetry in QCD, Nambu-Goldstone spontaneous symmetry breaking in the nonlinear σ-model (in Classical and Quanum Mechanics, and QFT);
Nambu-Goldstone Theorem;
Chiral Perturbation Theory: mesons in QCD, pion decay constant, explicit breaking, chiral condensate and the Gell-Mann-Oakes--Renner relation, ππ scattering















To the left is another illustration of the Higgs and Goldstone principles: The ground state does not have the symmetry of the potential. There clearly is an excitation along the bottom of the valley that needs no effort (massless particle). In the case of a gauge symmetry, one can eliminate the ball by a gauge transformation.
see above, and see me

movie about Nambu-Goldstone spontaneous and explicit symmetry breaking in Classical Mechanics (mp4 with sound)
movie about spontaneous symmetry breaking
movie about Nambu-Goldstone sonntaneous symmetry breaking in Quantum Mechanics (mp4 with sound)
movie about Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Quantum Mechanics
Mexican Hat Illustration
Problem sheet 13
due 26 Apr
24 Apr, Tue
lecture 27
Pions and Nucleons (cont'd):
Pions and one nucleon ((H)BχPT): Goldberger-Treiman relation, chirally symmetric interactions at LO, Kroll-Rudermann and Weinberg-Tomozawa terms,
πN scattering length,
nucleon polarisabilities and nucleon Compton scattering, Bayesian estimates of residual theoretical uncertainties (theory error estimates),
diffreentce between model and theory
see above, and see me
26 Apr, Thu
lecture 28
Pions and Nucleons (cont'd):
χEFT in Few-Nucleon Systems: phenomenology of the NN system and potential, deuteron, EFT at nonrelativistic energies, one pipon exchange, unntural scales and short-distance coefficients, statuand critique s of the χEFT potential, cutoff-dependence as guiding principle;
Selected (biased) applications: NN phase shifts and observables, 3N system, nucleon polarisabilities and N, d, 3He Compton scattering, lattice results, impact on the Anthropic Principle, starting on spectra of light and not-so-light nuclei, starting on nuclear and neutron-star matter, lattice extrapolations & alternative worlds;
Error Bars for Nuclear Physics! (A Polemic)
Wrap-Up: A Tour Of Nuclear and Particle Physics
see above, and see me Problem sheet 14
due 03 May
01 May 09:00
Tue
Nuclear Day: Your Presentations