Course: Experimental particle physics and astrophysics

» List of faculties » PRF » SLO
Course title Experimental particle physics and astrophysics
Course code SLO/SZZCX
Organizational form of instruction no contact
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 0
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Řídký Jan, prof. DrSc.
  • Peřina Jan, prof. RNDr. Ph.D.
  • Hrabovský Miroslav, prof. RNDr. DrSc.
Course content
" The Standard Model of electroweak interactions - discoveries of fundamental particles, beta decay of a neutron; Fermi theory; c-quark, Cabibbo angle; CKM matrix, b-quark, Feynman-Gell-Mann's theory; charged vector boson; Glashow-Salam-Weinberg model; neutral currents, top quark and Higgs boson discovery, dark matter detection, possible extensions of the Standard Model. Oscillation of neutral mesons, neutrino oscillations. " Experimental methods of particle physics, fixed target experiments, collidings beams, types of colliding particles, the LHC accelerator, experiment ATLAS. Identification and calibration of physics objects in modern detectors, detection of neutrinos and cosmic rays. The measurement and simulation, signal and background separation, dark matter detection. " Parton model and QCD - strange and charm particles, groups and multiplets of particles; proton structure, model of constituent quarks; mesons and baryons; color; parton model; distribution function; sum rules; fragmentation functions; quantum chromodynamics and its Lagrangian; gluons; running coupling constant; asymptotic freedom. " Cosmic radiation, its sources, mechanisms of propagation and detection - acceleration mechanisms of cosmic rays, propagation of cosmic rays in space, primary cosmic rays, charged rays, neutrino astronomy - solar, atmospheric and supernovae neutrinos, gamma-ray astronomy and roentgen astronomy, secondary cosmic radiation, air showers, detectors of cosmic rays - Čerenkov and fluorescence telescopes, detection devices in space. " Cosmology - origin and early evolution of the Universe, inflation and its consequences, dark matter and dark energy, the relic radiation, its measurement and its cosmological significance, Hubble's law and the expansion of the universe, the age of the universe, models of the universe - Friedmann models, conformal model, gravitational lenses and their cosmological significance, methods of determining cosmological distances, the current results and their significance, the structure of the universe on large scales, its evolution and cosmological significance. " Detectors for ionizing radiation in particle physics - basic mechanisms of energy losses of charged particles in the environment - electrons, muons and hadrons; detection of gamma and x-rays; types of calorimeters and their advantages and disadvantages; types of track detectors and their historical development; typical detector geometries and detection techniques at big experiments; detection of neutrinos. " Statistics in high-energy physics - the probability density of a random variable; Monte Carlo methods; principle of maximum likelihood parameter estimates; statistical tests, covariance matrix; setting of cuts, multivariate techniques, separation of signal and background. " Physics accelerators and synchrotron radiation - the development and types of accelerators; synchrotron radiation; linear optics synchrotron; beam source - injection; principles of the accelerator system. " Nuclear Astrophysics - evolution of the Universe: the era of radiation and matter, relic radiation, dark matter and dark energy, primary synthesis of nuclei, formation of heavy elements; nuclear processes in stars: self-gravitating objects, nuclear fusion in stars, solar neutrinos and neutrinos from supernova, neutrino oscillations; experimental results: detection of cosmic neutrinos and photons, the list of important experiments. " Computer methods of High Energy Physics - experiments in high-energy physics; random numbers and their series, random number generators, random number transformation; Monte Carlo methods, data models; Geant4 tool; work with the program ROOT - fundamentals and practical applications.

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified
Learning outcomes
Final exam for verification and evaluation of the level of knowledge.
Comprehension Recognize and classify the given problem. Explain the essence of the problem and data. Interpret data. Predict the behaviour of the given phenomena.
Prerequisites
Students are obliged to meet the study demands.

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam

To demonstrate the level of his/her knowledge.
Recommended literature


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Science Study plan (Version): Applied Physics (2019) Category: Physics courses 2 Recommended year of study:2, Recommended semester: Summer