Introduction To Experimental Particle Physics

This course is a survey of particle physics for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. It explores the common roots and tools of the nuclear (medium energy) and particle (high energy) fields. The main objective is to develop an understanding of the Standard Model of quarks, leptons and the fundamental interactions of the universe together with the associated experimental techniques.
Specific topics include an introduction to the fundamental interactions and their mediators, quarks and leptons, symmetries and tests of conservation laws, and indications of physics beyond the Standard Model. The course in particular includes experimental techniques in particle physics, including the physics principles of particle accelerators and particle detectors. The lectures on particle accelerators will include selected topics in the types of accelerators, transverse & longitudinal dynamics, the lattice, magnets, RF and plasma acceleration, as well as electron dynamics & synchrotron radiation. The particle detector lectures will include a presentation of the main properties of particle interactions with matter, which form the basis of all particle detectors. The various types of detectors used in particle physics experiments are discussed in detail, including their sensitivity, detector response, energy, space and time resolution response functions, detector efficiency and dead time, covering devices for position and momentum measurements, particle identification systems, calorimeters and multipurpose systems, as well as the overall design of a particle physics experiment. Current and future experimental challenges will be discussed for modern particle physics experiments, including the data volume and computing challenge, the online collision selection, and the data analyses - taking the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN as an example. .
The application of such accelerators and detectors, for example in the medical and industrial sectors, will be discussed as well.