Tu sei qui: Home > Studiare > Insegnamenti, competenze trasversali, MOOCs > Insegnamenti > 2025/2026 BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL

B2247 - BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL

Anno Accademico 2025/2026

  • Docente: Filippo Sala
  • Crediti formativi: 6
  • SSD: FIS/02
  • Lingua di insegnamento: Inglese
  • Moduli: Filippo Sala (Modulo 1) Ilaria Brivio (Modulo 2)
  • Modalità didattica: Convenzionale - Lezioni in presenza (Modulo 1) Convenzionale - Lezioni in presenza (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Laurea Magistrale in Physics (cod. 9245)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The students will gain knowledge about selected solutions of open problems of the Standard Model of particle physics, both in their model-building aspects and in their experimental signals. Emphasis will be given on the shortcomings of the solutions discussed and on their interconnections, so that the students will become capable of navigating the frontiers of research in physics beyond the Standard Model in an autonomous and critical manner.

Contenuti

  1. Recap of the standard models of particle physics and of cosmology
  2. Tricks of the trade: EFTs, NDA, spurions
  3. Physics beyond the standard model: why (overview), and at which energy scales (includes electroweak vacuum metastability)
  4. Unification(s)
  5. Hierarchy problems of the cosmological constant and the weak scale
  6. Flavour problem(s)
  7. Strong CP problem
  8. Dark matter
  9. Baryon asymmetry of the universe

For all problems discussed, the course will insist on why they constitute a problem and present the theory and phenomenology of selected solutions, as well as their interconnections and shortcomings. The goal is for the student to gain not only knowledge about the above topics, but also skills to work out the basics of the theory and phenomenology of solutions to the problems discussed.

In order to profitably attend this course, it is highly recommended to have passed at least two among the three following courses: QFT2, Theory of the Standard Model, Theoretical Astroparticle Physics.

Testi/Bibliografia

Lecture notes will be made available on the page of the course on virtuale. They will contain the topics covered, as well as references to specific articles.

Reading material where to find the topics covered in the course (and much more, to allow the interested students to go deeper) include:

  • McCullough, “Lectures at NExT Summer Workshop 2020”, https://inspirehep.net/literature/1866873 (EFT&spurions, strong CP, hierarchy problems)

  • Manohar, “Introduction to Effective Field Theories” https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.05863

  • Croon et al., “GUT Physics in the era of the LHC”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.04977

  • Martin, “A supersymmetry primer”, https://arxiv.org/pdf/hep-ph/9709356

  • Giudice, “The Dawn of the Post-Naturalness Era”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.07663

  • Panico Wulzer, “The Composite Nambu-Goldstone Higgs”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1506.01961

  • Zupan, “Introduction to flavour physics”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.05062

  • Altmannshofer Zupan, “Snowmass White Paper: Flavor Model Building”, https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.07726

  • Hook, “TASI lectures on the strong CP problem”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.02669

  • Cirelli Strumia Zupan, “Dark Matter”, https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.01705

  • Bertone Hooper, “History of Dark Matter”, https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.04909

  • Bodeker Buchmuller, “Baryogenesis from the weak scale to the grand unification scale”, https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.07294

Metodi didattici

Frontal lectures, mostly at the blackboard.
To boost their learning of knowledge and skills as well as their independence independence, students will be given the time to answer quick questions during lectures.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Homework plus oral exam

Homework: To test mostly the skills gained by the student, exercises will be assigned during the course. The student will work out at least 5 of them outside lecture time and, at the latest one week before the oral exam, send their solutions to Sala. Any tool is allowed to make calculations, collaboration among students is possible.

Oral exam: it will start with a discussion of a subset of the homework handed-in (testing mostly the skills gained), and proceed with questions on the program of the course (testing both the knowledge and the skills gained).

Final grade: it will be based on the oral exam, with a penalty for every mistake in the homework unless the student recognises and corrects the mistake in the discussion. To pass the exam it is necessary to know why each problem is such and to be able to work out the basic properties that each solution should respect. To pass the exam with a grade above 24 it is necessary, in addition, to know and be able to work out the theory and phenomenology of the solutions discussed.

Retaking the exam: same rules, but the exercises to be worked out and sent to Sala should be chosen as follows: i) at least 3 from the same list assigned during the course, excluding exercises handed-in on the previous attempt; ii) at least 2 from a new list that will be sent privately to the students that need it.

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or temporary/permanent disabilities are advised to contact the University Office responsible in a timely manner (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ). The office will be responsible for proposing any necessary accommodations to the students concerned. These accommodations must be submitted to the instructor for approval at least 15 days in advance, and will be evaluated in light of the learning objectives of the course.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Filippo Sala

Consulta il sito web di Ilaria Brivio