Course Evaluation, Department of Theoretical Physics - FYS230 Theoretical Particle Physics, Fall 2006

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1 Course Evaluation, Department of Theoretical Physics - FYS230 Theoretical Particle Physics, Fall 2006 Course Evaluation, Department of Theoretical Physics - FYS230 Theoretical Particle Physics, Fall 2006 Summary Total number of answers 4 Filter no Group by question no Course evaluation FYS230 - Theoretical Particle Physics Part 1. General opinions Give your opinion in the scale = very negative; 2 = negative; 3 = neutral; 4 = positive; 5 = very positive Personal comments will be appreciated! A. General What is your general opinion of the course? 4 50% % 2 Mean 4.5 Comment 1 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

2 3 have commented on this question Grade = 4 (one comment) The course is a really good addition to the experimental course I had in particle physics, where nobody was taking about Lagrangians or how to estimate cross-sections. Grade = 5 (2 comments) very interesting, i've learned a lot It was a good introduction to the standard model and how to perform approximative calculations using the theory. We got an overall picture, without loosing ourselves into too much details. B. Literature What is your general opinion of the "Modern Elementary Particle Physics" book by Gordon Kane? 4 100% 4 Mean 4 Comment 3 have commented on this question Grade = 4 (3 comments) The book has a logical structure and is very well written, but the experimental information is a bit out-of-date. I had the old edition so it is a bit out of date and with lots of mistakes but I like it. The level was good, but it was sometimes a bit messy (mainly the order of the different parts). C. Lectures What is your general oppinion of lectures with Leif Lönnblad? 2 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

3 4 75% 3 Mean 4.2 Comment 3 have commented on this question Grade = 4 (2 comments) sometimes the black board writing could be more structured but anyway he explained things quite well. sometimes the handwriting on the blackboard is difficult to read Grade = 5 (one comment) Not going to fast, makes sure that the students understand, allways ready to answer questions. I appreciate the lecture notes on the web page. What is your general opinion of the lectures with Johan Bijnens? 5 75% 3 Mean 4.8 Comment 2 have commented on this question Grade = 5 (2 comments) very well structured The same things as for Leif. Very good notes during the lecture. D. Problem sessions 3 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

4 What is your general opinion of the problem sessions? 5 50% 2 Mean 4.2 Comment 2 have commented on this question Grade = 4 (one comment) ok, same level as the exam Grade = 5 (one comment) When doing problems and presenting the solution you can really see how much you know and how well you have understood the theory. The number of problems every week was just enough. F. Written exam What is your general opinion of the written exam? 4 50% 2 Mean 4 Comment 3 have commented on this question Grade = 4 (2 comments) level is ok The level was OK. It would have been nice to discuss the problems (or get solutions). Grade = 5 (one comment) 4 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

5 This was the first time I really understood how to estimate the p 's or \bar e\gamma e's in the cross-section formula. It is fairly easy but from the lecture it was not clear to me. Maybe it had been useful if this were written to the blackboard instead of only telling it. The exam had both easier and not so easy questions so I think it was ok. Part 2. Intended Lerning Outcomes. In this section you should go through all the different parts of the course and think about how well you have you have accomplished the learning goals. 1 = You have not at all acquired the knowledge intended 3 = You have adequately acquired the knowledge intended 5 = You have acquired much more knowledge than intended A. The building blocks of the standard model The student knows about all the quarks, leptons and gauge bosons in the standard model. 4 50% 2 Mean 3.5 The student knows about the most common hadrons. 5 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

6 4 50% 2 Mean 3.5 The student is able to describe the ordering in mass between the different particles. 3 75% 3 Mean 3.2 One has answered this question I am not really sure what is meant by "knowledge that's intended". My interpretation is what I thought I would learn in this course. B. Group theory The student understand the basics of group theory and understands how groups can be used to describe symmetries. 2 25% 1 Mean 3 6 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

7 2 have answered this question the basics should be extended, include for example how you should interpret the "x" sign in SU(2)xU(1). some parts of the group theory were not needed later in the course which made them a bit unneccessary. C. Lagrange functions The student understands how local gauge symmetries and covariand derivatives give rise to interaction terms in the Lagrange density. 4 75% 3 The student can describe how Maxwells equations can be derived from simple symmetry requirements. 2 50% 2 Mean 2.8 The student understands how the Dirac equation is handled in the Lagrange density. 4 75% 3 7 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

8 D. The standard model The student can describe the different terms in the standard model Lagrange density and which processes these lead to. The student understands the Higgs mechanism and how particle masses are introduced % 4 Mean 4 E. Cross sections The student understands how to interpret interaction terms in the Lagrange density in terms of Feynman diagrams. 8 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

9 2 25% % 2 The student can use the resulting Feynman rules to estimate the cross sections for production, decay and scattering processes. 2 25% 1 Mean 3.5 F. Strong interactions The student understands the concept of asymptotic freedom and how that is related to the confinement of quarks and gluons. 4 50% 2 Mean 4 The student can describe how quarks are transformed into hadrons in scattering experiments. 9 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

10 4 100% 4 Mean 4 The student understands how parton densities are measured and how they are used to calculate cross sections in hadron collisions. 3 75% 3 Mean 3.2 One has answered this question there was not much about the measurement of parton densities (but this is a theoretical course so this might be ok) G. Electro-weak interactions The student is able to calculate decay widths and lifetimes of the gauge bosons. 4 75% 3 The student is able to calculate the decay widths of the Higgs boson. 10 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

11 3 100% 4 4 0% 0 Mean 3 The student is able to approximately calculate the production cross sections for the gauge bosons and the Higgs. 3 75% 3 Mean 3.2 H. Scaling violations. The student can explain why the coupling constants can vary depending on the energies involved in a process. 4 75% 3 Mean 4.2 The student is able to explain why the strong coupling decreases with increasing energy, while the electromagnetic coupling increases. 11 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

12 4 100% 4 Mean 4 I. CP violation The student can derive how the mixing between quark families is included in the Lagrange density. 4 75% 3 Mean 4.2 The student can explain why mixing between all three families causes violation of CP. 4 75% 3 J. Experiments 12 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

13 The student can account for the important experiments in particle physics from around 1980 and onwards. 2 25% % 2 Mean 3.2 The student understands which particles can be detected in the experiments. 2 25% 1 Mean 3 The student can describe the most important types of detectors used in experiments. 2 50% 2 4 0% 0 Mean 2.5 One has answered this question particle detection was much more detailed in my experimental particle physics course, e.g. there was nothing about Cherenkov radiation, em shower,... and how different types of detectors (energy, momentum,...) work at this course 13 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

14 K. Neutrino masses and oscillations The student understands how the existence of neutrino masses may lead to oscillations. The student is able to estimate the size of the oscillations depending on the mass difference between different neutrinos. 3 75% 3 Mean 3.2 L. Grand unification and super symmetry The student can describe how the addition of extra terms in the standard model Lagrange density can be used to study possible extensions of the standard model. 14 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

15 3 75% 3 Mean 3.2 The student understands the basic assumptions behind grand unification models and super symmetry. 4 50% 2 Mean 3.5 M. Connection to cosmology and astro-physics The student can give examples of astro-physical observations which may limit possible extensions of the standard model. 2 25% % 3 4 0% 0 Mean 2.8 The student can estimate the fraction of the dark matter in the universe which may be due to neutrino masses. 15 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

16 1 25% % 1 4 0% 0 Mean 2.2 N. Specific outcomes Given a standard model process at a given collision experiment, the student can use the standard model Lagrange density to estimate the corresponding cross section and how many such events may be observed with a given integrated luminosity. By estimating different cross sections the student is able to show which are the most important production and decay channels for the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and how their importance depends on the mass of the Higgs. The student is also able to describe how the Higgs would be detected for the different decay channels. 16 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

17 4 75% 3 The student is able to describe all parameters in the standard model and give examples of how these can be measured. 4 75% 3 Part 3. Your efforts. In this part you are asked to estimate how much work you have committed to this course. In each case you should estimate a percentage with 1 meaning 0-20% up to 5 meaning %. If applicable, 6 means more than 100%. How much time have you spent on this course (for a 5 point course 100% means five weeks, 40 hours per week)? 17 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

18 2 50% % 2 6 0% 0 Mean 3 How many of the lectures did you attend? 4 0% % 3 Mean 4.5 How many of the exercise sessions did you attend? 2 25% 1 4 0% % 3 Mean 4.2 How many of the exercises did you try to solve yourself before the exercise sessions? 4 0% % 3 Mean of 19 11/24/ :42 PM

19 Thank you for your input! Contact person: Leif Lönnblad, Last modified: 01/03/07 19 of 19 11/24/ :42 PM