Relativity and Subatomic Physics

The course builds on the knowledge acquired in the first and second years to cover the fundamentals of special relativity (1/3 of the course units) and provide students with a brief introduction to subatomic particle physics (2/3 of the course units). It will thus enable students to gain a solid grasp of the innermost structure of matter. After developing the tools of special relativity necessary for the remainder of the course, we will delve into both the study of atomic nuclei (nuclear physics) and that of “elementary” particles (subatomic physics proper). We will provide an initial overview of the Standard Model of particle physics and the basic concepts of nuclear physics.

This course is an introductory course designed to provide students with the basic concepts required for the course “Experimental Astroparticle Physics 1” (HMPH210) in Semester 2 of the CCP Master’s program.

This course is based on the following concepts:

      - Introduction to Special Relativity 

     - Minkowski spacetime and Lorentz-Poincaré transformations

     - Relativistic Mechanics

     - Energy-momentum four-vectors and collisions between elementary particles

    - Atomic nucleus, binding energy

    - Nuclear Instability and Radioactive Transitions

    - Liquid drop model

    - Low-energy nuclear reactions

    - Effective interaction area

    - The Concept of Detection in Subatomic Physics

    - Concepts of Elementary Particles

General Course in Physics at the L2 Level

- Newtonian mechanics of a point.

- Mathematics for Physics.

100% CT

Course materials/tutorials and answer keys for exercises in English and French. Courses are taught in French.

Special Relativity 

     - Introduction to Special Relativity 

     - Minkowski spacetime and Lorentz-Poincaré transformations

     - Relativistic Mechanics

     - Energy-momentum four-vectors and collisions between elementary particles

Nuclear and Particle Physics  

1/ The framework:

            A / Introduction, …

            B / Units, conventions, scales, …

            C / The Birth of Particle Physics

2/ Nuclear Physics:

            A / Nucleus Components

            B / Bill of Materials

            C / Binding energy

            D / Liquid drop model

            E / Decay processes

            F / Applications, Dosimetry

3/ Particle Physics

            A / Elementary Particles and Interactions in the Standard Model

            B / Special Relativity and Kinematics

            C / Decays and Collisions

4/ Cross-sections:

            A / Definition

            B / Changes in the reference frame

            C / Units and Orders of Magnitude

            D / Differential and partial cross sections

            E / Cross-section calculation (classical mechanics), Rutherford scattering

            F / Examples (Interaction of CRs with the CMB)

            G / The Concept of Luminosity in Particle Colliders

CM: 27 hours

TD: 27 hours