6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4012717CNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (C) Bachelor - specialised level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Students must have followed ‘Quantum Field Theory’, before they can enroll for ‘Electroweak and Strong Interactions’.
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Department
Physics
Educational team
Alexandre Sevrin (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
26 contact hours Lecture
26 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
Course Content

The Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics provides an excellent theoretical description of elementary matter particles and their interactions through the electroweak and strong forces. Important notions such as (chiral) gauge theories and the Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism are introduced and applied to the Standard Model. Ample time is spent to the Brout-Englert-Higgs particle and its phenomenology. Flavor physics (CKM matrix, CP violation) and neutrino physics (Majorana and Dirac masses, masses for neutrinos, see-saw mechanism, neutrino oscillations) are thoroughly treated.

In the last part of the course we turn our attention to "beyond the Standard Model physics". After analyzing the shortcomings of the Standard Model and introducing regularization, renormalization and the running of coupling constants, we end with an introduction to grand unified theories and supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model.

Because of de flood of new experimental data coming from the LHC and other experiments, the contents of the course is continously adapted to the lates insights.

 

Course material
Handbook (Required) : Quantum Field Theory, F. Mandl and G. Shaw, 2de, Wiley, 9780471496847, 2010
Course text (Required) : Electroweak and Strong Interactions, Het tweede deel van de cursus - waar elementen uit talrijke handboeken en wetenschappelijke artikels samen komen - zal waar nodig additionele referenties gegeven worden.
Additional info

This course is on the program of the KU Leuven. The course is also often followed by students from the ULB and the UGent. In principle the course is taught in Brussels but some lecture days might be offered through teleclassing.

There are 5 teaching days - spread over the semester - starting at 9 am and ending at 3 pm.

The exercises are given in the form of homework. The students have to write a final paper - between 7 and 11 pages long - discussing a topic related to the course. The homework will be corrected and particular problems will be discussed in class.

Learning Outcomes

General Competencies

The course aims at giving the student a thorough microscopic understanding of elementary matter particles and their interactions through the electroweak and strong forces. Upon completion the student should be able to follow the most recent advances in elementary particle physics.

By studying certain scientific publications and presentations the student gets in touch with the current developments in the field.

Ample attention is given to the methodology which led to the Standard Model of Particle Physics. 

The exercises and the final paper allow the student to model and analytically treat complex physical phenomena.

 

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 33% of the final mark.
SELF Practical Assignment determines 34% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 33% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Mondeling with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 33% of the final mark.

    Note: The exam will be online and individually.

Within the SELF Practical Assignment category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Oefeningen als huiswerk with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 34% of the final mark.

    Note: At the end of the course you write a short paper on a topic related to the course.

Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Eindwerk + presentatie with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 33% of the final mark.

    Note: After every lecture you will receive a homework assignment which will be corrected and graded.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The homework assignments and final paper are important ingredients of the final evaluation. The exam itself consists of a discussion of various conceptual points addressed in the course.

The exam itself last about an hour and is held using telclassing tools. 

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Physics and Astronomy: Minor Research
Master of Physics and Astronomy: Minor Economy and Business
Master of Physics and Astronomy: Minor Education
Master of Teaching in Science and Technology: fysica (120 ECTS, Etterbeek) (only offered in Dutch)