Instructor: Prof. Gerald Miller (miller@uw.edu)
TAs: Jaazib Charanya jazchar@uw.edu
TA Office Hours: TBD
Instructor Office Hours: Thursday 2-4pm or make an appointment: miller@uw.edu
Classroom: PAA A110
Lecture: 11:30-12:20 MWF
Topics
This course will be an introduction to special relativity, the particles of the standard model, and some important symmetries in nature.
Please ask questions in class, Prof. Weisskopf quote on "there are no stupid questions"
Class motto: Physics is not a spectator sport
Course Materials
Spacetime Physics (download link)
Yaffe-Ellis Notes (Yaffe-Ellis-2014.pdf )
Reading of Additional Interest
Lecture schedule- this will be edited during the quarter
Week 1
Monday Jan 5, Introduction to class Special Relativity Yaffe-Ellis YE Ch. 2,
Wed. Jan 7, Special relativity YE 2,
Friday Jan 9. Special relativity, Minkowski space-time YE 2,3
Week 2
M Jan 12, Minkowski space-time YE 3
W Jan 14, Relativistic dynamics YE 4
F Jan 16, Relativistic dynamics YE 4
Week 3
W Jan 21, More relativity -TBD
F Jan 23, More relativity -Introduction to light front -TBD
Week 4
M Jan 26 Review Quantum Mechanics McIntyre 2,3 McIntyre_Quantum Mechanics_2012_QM.pdf
W Jan 28- relativity and quantum mechanics on the light front TBD
Jan 30 Noether's Theorem, Symmetries and Groups Rybka (R) notes R 2.1-2.5
Week 5
M Feb 2, Jan 30 Symmetries and Groups , parity and momentum R2.1-2.5
W Feb 4 , 3 D rotations as a group, angular momentum R 3.1-3.5
F Feb 6 MIDTERM in class
Week 6
M Feb 9 angular momentum R 3.1-3.5 YE. Chap 5
W Feb 11, angular momentum, translation invariance and quantum mechanics McIntyre 7.1, 7.2
F Feb 13, Hydrogen atom spectrum McIntyre 8.3
Week 7
W Feb 18 Spin 1/2 systems R3.6-3.8
F Feb 20 Intro to fermions and bosons ,
Week 8
M Feb 23 the standard model R6, YE 7
W Feb 25, quarks and hadrons YE 7
F Feb 27 Quantum perturbation theory McIntyre 10.1-10.3 (light)
Week 9
M March 2Why the proton and neutron are so interesting
W March. 4 More symmetries YE 8
F March 6 more on isospin
Week 10
M March 9 weak interactions YE 9
W March 11 grand unification, magnetic monopole, extra dimensions
F March 13 Review
Grade Distribution - There is a homework, midterm, and a final
| 40% | Final |
| 30% | Midterm |
| 30% | Homework |
Reading
Readings will be assigned each week from the reading made available online.
Lectures
We have lecture in person MWF 11:30 to 12:20 in PAA110.
Homework
Homework will be due weekly on midnight Friday. Homework should be converted to PDF format and uploaded each week by its due date to receive full credit. The two lowest homework scores will be dropped.
Homework shall be submitted on Canvas as a PDF file. Late homework without an extension will be discounted by 25% per day to a minimum of 50%, and will not be accepted after the last lecture class. If you need an extension for any reason, please contact the instructor by email before the homework is due.
Office Hours
Office hours will be arranged with the class and extra remote office hours announced when lectures are cancelled.
Contact instructor to arrange special office hours.
Exams
Midterm is scheduled for normal class time and room on Feb . 14 .
Final exam is scheduled for Wednesday March 18 2:30-4:20pm in our normal classroom.
Schedule
Grading
Exams will be curved upwards if the mean is below 65%. They will not be curved downwards. Average exam grades combined with completed but mostly incorrect homework and reading quizzes should yield a GPA of around 2.5.
Getting Help
Please do not hesitate to contact the TAs or the instructor via email if something is going wrong in the class that we can help with. This includes difficulty with certain concepts or preparation, concerns about grades, or personal issues that have come up that are interfering with the course. The earlier these issues are raised, the more likely it is that satisfactory accommodations can be made.
Access and accommodation
Your experience in this class is important to me, so if you have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but are not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical), please see details here (Links to an external site.).
Religious observations and holidays will be accommodated, please see details here (Links to an external site)
Safe campus
I am committed to ensuring a safe environment on campus. I suggest you check out the resources available here.