Capita
Selecta of Particle Physics
Organized by
Prof. Jorgen
D'Hondt
Within the framework of
this master course at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel divers series of
lectures are organized on the level of advanced master students and
starting PhD students. Typically one dedicated series of lectures
around one theme per year. The student is obliged to follow these
series of
lectures, and supplements this with 5 additional seminars on particle
physics topics. Of the special series of lectures the student will
write a short report. Seminars can for example be found on the website
of the IIHE ( here)
and
on
the
website
of
the
IUAP Fundamental Interactions ( here).
For the second part of the course the student can select, with the
approval of the professor, two topics in particle physics. For both
topics a 10 page "primer" (+ references) will be written on the
selected topic. The primers are written with the aim to introduce a
regular master student into the topic and bring the reader to the level
to understand the main research questions in the specific domain. The
student will read and study the relevant literatures on the topic. The
primers are to be written in English.
The evaluation will happen on the basis of the general quality of the
written primers, and the short reports of the lectures/seminars.
Below the series of lectures organized over the last years for this
course.
Silicon Tracking detectors at
colliders
Dr. Frank Hartmann (KIT)
General-purpose
particle detectors at colliders consist of several
systems that operate synchronously to measure the properties of
particles created in high-energy collisions. The tracking device is a
center part of each detector and requires a high resolution to track
charged particles. Over the last decades silicon detectors emerged as
the main tracking detectors technology. The performance of silicon
detectors however is influenced by the high radiation present around
the particle collision point. Detectors are designed to mitigate this
degradation. Typically several layers of silicon sensors are grouped
according to an optimal geometry to measure the collision events.
Link to the slides: Lecture
1, Lecture
2, Lecture
3, Lecture
4.
The origin of cosmic rays
Prof. Stijn Buitink (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Cosmic
rays
are
the
most energetic particles in the Universe. Their origin is
yet unknown despite a century of intensive research with observatories
all around the world. Possible sources include the remnants of
supernova explosions, the jets of active black holes and gamma-ray
bursts. This lecture series will give an overview of the physics of
cosmic accelerators and the state-of-the-art of cosmic-ray detection.
Link to the slides will be made available.
Muon detection and reconstruction at
colliders
Dr. Piet Verwilligen (INFN - Sezione di Bari)
Muons
are
very
important
for
experimental
studies in particle physics. At
colliders they are produced in the decay of W, Z, H bosons as well as
in the hadronization of b-quarks. They appear in the most prominent
collider signatures of predicted new physics phenomena like
supersymmetry. At the same time muons are crucial for the study of B
and D mesons, touching concepts as CP violation. Therefore the
continuous development of novel muon detection and reconstruction
techniques is an active research field.
Terug
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Naturalness, Brout-Englert-Higgs
mass and Supersymmetry
Dr. Alberto Mariotti (VUB)
The
lectures
will
start
with
a
review
of
the
radiative
corrections
to
the
Brout-Englert-Higgs
mass in the Standard Model and the resulting
hierarchy problem. The minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard
Model (MSSM) will be introduced with a highlight on the analysis of the
Brout-Englert-Higgs potential in this theory, including quantum
corrections. Finally, at a moment where the collider experiments
provide tantalizing results, the implication of a 125 GeV
Brout-Englert-Higgs mass on supersymmetry will be discussed.
- Main reference notes are
- A. Djouadi, "The Anatomy of electro-weak symmetry
breaking (II): The Higgs boson in the minimal supersymmetric model",
Phys. Rept. 459 (2008) 1; hep-ph/0503173
- S. P. Martin, "A Supersymmetry Primer", in G.L.Kane
(ed.) Perspectives on supersymmetry II (1-153); hep-ph/9709356
- J. Louis, I. Brunner and S. J. Huber, "The
supersymmetric standard model", hep-ph/9811341
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A review of B physics
Dr. Niels Tuning (NIKHEF)
The
tiny
breaking
of
the
discrete
symmetry
under
the
combined
Charge
and
Parity
operators
is
responsible
for a subtle
difference between
matter and antimatter. These lectures will cover the theory of CP
violation and
its place in the heart of the Standard Model. The experimental methods
to study
CP violation through the decays of B-mesons will be examined in detail.
From
this, it will become evident that the detailed study of B-decays is a
sensitive
- indirect - search for New Physics, complementary to the direct search
at
Atlas and CMS.
- Link to slides (part
1, part
2, part
3)
- Main reference notes on CP violation and more (here)
- Many references can be found in these notes
- Reference book: "CP violation", I.I. Bigi and A.I.
Sanda, Cambridge University Press (2000)
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An
experimental review of Neutrino Physics
Prof. Pierre Vilain (ULB) and Prof. Gaston Wilquet (ULB)
After a short historical
summary, the role of neutrino experiments in the
development of the electroweak Standard Model will be described. Deep
inelastic
scattering of neutrinos on nucleons has also provided valuable
information on the
nucleon structure, complementary to the results obtained with electron
and muon
probes. In the main part of the course, the convincing evidences that
neutrinos are
massive will be presented and the future prospects towards a complete
determination of the masses and the mixing matrix will be discussed. A
related
fundamental question, possibly within experimental reach, is whether
neutrinos are
Dirac or Majorana particles. Another quite active field of research is
the study of
neutrinos from astrophysical origin. The last part of the course will
try to give a
description of this field together with the possible connections
between neutrino
physics and cosmology.
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An
introduction
to
low-energy
supersymmetry
and
its
experimental
aspects
Dr. Filip Moortgat (ETH Zurich)
February 9, 10 and 11, 2009 (announcement)
After a short review of the
shortcomings of the Standard Model, low‐energy
supersymmetry and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) will
be
introduced. The basic phenomenology of supersymmetric particles,
including the
MSSM Higgs sector, will be discussed. Accelerator‐based search
techniques for these
particles will be reviewed, as well as methods that may allow the
determination
of their masses and quantum numbers. Finally, non‐accelerator searches
for
supersymmetric Dark Matter will be briefly reviewed.
- Link to slides (Part
1 and Part
2)
- List of reference articles in the first slides of
Part 1
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