Standard Model (2022/2023)

Topics will include: Non-abelian gauge theory (aka Yang-Mills theory), the Standard Model (SM) as a particular non-abelian gauge theory (its gauge symmetry, particle content, and Lagrangian, Yukawa couplings, CKM matrix, 3 generations), spontaneous symmetry breaking: global vs local symmetries (Goldstone's Theorem vs Higgs Mechanism; mass generation for bosons and fermions), neutrino sector (including right-handed neutrinos?), effective field theory, Feynman rules (Standard Model propagators and vertices), gauge and global anomalies, strong CP problem, renormalization group (beta functions, asymptotic freedom, quark confinement, mesons, baryons, Higgs instability, hierarchy problem), unexplained puzzles in the SM, and surprising/intriguing aspects of SM structure that hint at a deeper picture.