Navigation auf uzh.ch

Suche

Physik-Institut

PHY391 Proseminar Theoretische Physik

General theme: exploring the connections between particle physics, condensed matter, and cosmology.

These three different domains of modern physics have many common aspects and are intimately related. In this course we will explores some of these connections starting from specific recent developments at the frontier of these fields. 

 

Time table

Montag 10:15 - 12:00 Y36-K-08

Assignments of the Themes: Monday 18.2.2018 

The various themes will be presented and possibly assigned during this first lecture. Students unable to attend such lecture should contact G. Isidori in the following week.

First presentation:  Monday 4.3.2018

Each presentation should last 40-45 Minuten (excluding time for questions). All presentations should be in English. Most of the presentation are grouped in thematic pairs, according to the time-table below.

 

Necessary conditions for passing the module PHY391

  • Make one presentation 
  • Take part to at least 80% of the presentations by the other students

 

 

Confirmed presentations

 

Date Theme Supervisor Student

11.03.2019

3. What is Dark Matter

Michael Baker

Rafael Spörri 

25.03.2019

5. Stellar evolution

Wako Ishibaschi

Jana Rohrer

25.03.2019

6. Dark Energy and inflation

Wako Ishibaschi

Pablo Revuelta

01.04.2019

8. Gravitational Lensing

Wako Ishibaschi

Jasmin Muller

08.04.2019

9. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in cond. matter

Alexander Karlberg

Lorena Niggli

08.04.2019

10. Superconductivity

Claudia Cornella

Andrin Schmucki

15.04.2019

11. The Quantum Hall effect

Alexander Karlberg

Simon Jöhr

15.04.2019

7. Gravitational wave signals

Wako Ishibaschi

Philipp Huber

06.05.2019

12. Quantum Chromo Dynamics

Alexander Karlberg

David Urwyler

13.05.2019

13. The SM and the Higgs

Claudia Cornella

Nora Salgo

20.05.2019

14.  Quark mixing

Claudia Cornella

Aritz Lizoain

20.05.2019

15. Physics beyond the SM

Javier Fuentes-Martin 

Nikos Kalntis

27.05.2019

16. Neutrino masses

Javier Fuentes-Martin 

Marcelo Looser

27.05.2019

17. The matter-antimatter asymmetry

Javier Fuentes-Martin 

Luca Naterop

 

 

Extended description of the proposed presentation themes

 

  1. The Big Bang theory - Introduction to Friedmann equations and general discussion about the expansion of the Universe. Focus on baryogenesis.
  2. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) - General discussion about the CMB: from its initial discovery (Nobel prize 1978) to the discovery of its anisotropies (Nopbel prize  2006). Focus on how the CMB can be used to constrain cosmological parameters.
  3. What is Dark Matter (DM) - What is Dark matter and what do we know about it. Focus on DM evidences from rotational curves and structure formation.
  4. The WIMP paradigm - What is a WIMP (Weakly interactive Massive Particle)? Focus on the thermal production of WIMP and possible direct detection.
  5. Stellar evolution - General discussion about stellar evolution (see Noble prize 1983) with final focus on what supernovae are, and why some of them can be considered as “standard candles”.
  6. Dark Energy and inflation - Introduction to the concept of Dark Energy and inflation: their evidences (see in particular the Nobel Prize 2011) and their possible theoretical interpretations.
  7. Gravitational Waves (GW) signals - General presentation on what GW are and how they can be detected. Focus on the observations that gave rise to the 2017 Nobel prize.
  8. Gravitational Lensing - Introduction to the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, with focus on how it can be used to get evidences of DM.
  9. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in condensed matter - General discussion of Goldstone theorem, and application to condensed matter systems. Possible focus on ferromagnets.
  10. Superconductivity - The phenomenon of superconductivity and its theoretical description via the so-called BCS theory (Nobel prize 1972).
  11. The Quantum Hall effect - Introduction to the Quantum Hall effect (Nobel prize 1985).
  12. Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) - Elements of Non-Abelian gauge theories and introduction to the concept of asymptotic freedom (Noble prize 2004). Historical evidences of QCD; physics of jets.
  13. The Standard Model (SM) and the Higgs - Introduction to the unified theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions formulated by Glashow-Weinberg and Salam (Noble prize 1979). Focus on the Higgs mechanism (Noble prize 2013).
  14. Quark mixing  - The Yukawa sector of the Standard Model: how we describe quark and lepton  masses in the SM. Introduction to the phenomenon of quark mixing and to the CKM matrix (see Nobel prize 2008).
  15. Physics beyond the SM - Flavour physics beyond the SM: why flavour physics is an interesting probe of physics beyond the SM. The Effective Theory approach to physics beyond the SM.
  16. Neutrino masses and neutrino oscillations - Why Neutrino massese are special. Majorana masses, neutrino oscillations. Focus on the so-called see-saw mechanism to explain the smallness of Neutrino masses.
  17. The matter-antimatter asymmetry - Introduction to the CP symmetry in particle physics.  How this is broken in the SM (see Nobel prize 2008). Sakarov’s conditions for generating the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe.