Seminar on the theory of particles and fields

Contents & literature

Cosmology describes the physical world at the largest observable length scales, while particle physics deals with the smallest elementary constitutents of matter. A fascinating intersection of these areas are the first seconds after the Big Bang, where many properties of the cosmos were determined through particle physics processes. In some introductory talks, the experimental and theoretical fundamentals of the standard Big Bang model are treated; afterwards, topics like nucleosynthesis (formation of nuclear matter), phase transitions, baryogenesis (formation of the asymmetry between matter and antimatter), inflation, dark matter and dark energy are on the agenda.

Topics are primarily given out to master’s students. A limited number of topics can possibly also be worked on by bachelor’s students. Thus, we refer to the seminar on the theory of atoms, nuclei and condensed matter at this point, which is targeted exclusively towards bachelor’s students.

Literature

• [KT] E.W. Kolb, M.S. Turner: The Early Universe, Addison Wesley, 1991
• [KZ] H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, K. Zuber: Teilchenastrophysik, Teubner, 1997
• [Ch] T.-P. Cheng: Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology: A Basic Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2004
• [BG] L. Bergström, A. Goobar: Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics, Springer, 2004

The literature is made available to the speakers. Further advice concerning complementary literature is given as part of the talk guidance.