The Standard Model: From Fundamental Symmetries to Experimental Tests

An authoritative, hands-on introduction to the foundational theory and experimental tests of particle physics The Standard Model is an elegant and extremely successful theory that formulates the laws of fundamental interactions among elementary particles. This incisive textbook introduces students to the physics of the Standard Model while providing an essential overview of modern particle physics, with a unique emphasis on symmetry principles as the starting point for constructing models. The Standard Model equips students with an in-depth understanding of this impressively predictive theory and an appreciation of its beauty, and prepares them to interpret future experimental results. Describes symmetry principles of growing complexity, including Abelian symmetries and their application in QED, the theory of electromagnetic interactions, non-Abelian symmetries and their application in QCD, the theory of strong interactions, and spontaneously broken symmetries and their application in the theory of weak interactions Derives the Lagrangian that implements these symmetry principles and extracts the phenomenology that follows from it, such as elementary particles and accidental symmetries Explains how the Standard Model has been experimentally tested, emphasizing electroweak precision measurements, flavor-changing neutral current processes, neutrino oscillations, and cosmology Demonstrates how to extend the model to address experimental and observational puzzles, such as neutrino masses, dark matter, and the baryon asymmetry of the universe Features a wealth of problems drawing from the latest research Ideal for a one-semester graduate course and an invaluable resource for practitioners Online solutions manual (available only to instructors)