High Energy Physics

An electroweak model in which the masses of the W and Z bosons and the fermions are generated by quantum loop graphs through a symmetry breaking of the vacuum is investigated. The model is based on a regularized quantum field theory in which the quantum loop graphs are finite to all orders of perturbation theory and the massless theory is gauge invariant, Poincaré invariant, and unitary to all orders. The breaking of the electroweak symmetry SUL(2) × UY (1) is achieved without a Higgs particle. A fundamental energy scale ΛW (not to be confused with a naive cutoff) enters the theory through the regularization of the Feynman loop diagrams. The finite regularized theory with ΛW allows for a fitting of low energy electroweak data. ΛW ~ 542 GeV is determined at the Z pole by fitting it to the Z mass mZ, and anchoring the value of sin²θw to its experimental value at the Z pole yields a prediction for the W mass mW that is accurate to about 0.5% without radiative corrections. The scattering amplitudes for WLWL → WLWL and e+e− → W+L W−L processes do not violate unitarity at high energies due to the suppression of the amplitudes by the running of the coupling constants at vertices. There is no Higgs hierarchy fine-tuning problem in the model. The unitary tree level amplitudes for WLWL → WLWL scattering and e+e− → W+L W−L annihilation, predicted by the finite electroweak model are compared with the amplitudes obtained from the standard model with Higgs exchange. These predicted amplitudes can be used to distinguish at the LHC between the standard electroweak model and the Higgsless model.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

Over the last two years, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector has been installed in the tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and commissioned to its full functionality. The CMS detector successfully collected beam halo and beam dump data, while the beams were circulating in the LHC in September 2008. After the LHC incident, the commissioning of CMS continued with a one month campaign of continuous cosmic rays data taking at nominal magnetic field. This allowed further tuning of the detector, consolidation of its operation and characterization of its performances. In this talk, the status of the CMS detector and its performance, in view of LHC collisions in 2009, will be described.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

Motivated by recent mathematical developements in non-commutative Donaldson-Thomas theory, we construct a new statistical mechanicalmodel of crystal melting to count BPS bound states of D0 and D2 branes on a single D6 brane wrapping an arbitrary toric Calabi-Yau threefold. We also discuss the wall crossing phenomena, which are crucial for the proper understanding of the relation between the crystal melting and the topological string theory.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory. We introduce central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string. We discuss string interactions and cover the tree-level and one loop amplitudes. More advanced topics such as T-duality and D-branes will be taught as part of the course. The course is geared for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students enrolled in Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics. Required previous course work: Quantum Field Theory (AM516 or equivalent). The course evaluation will be based on regular problem sets that will be handed in during the term. The primary text is the book: 'String theory. Vol. 1: An introduction to the bosonic string. J. Polchinski (Santa Barbara, KITP) . 1998. 402pp. Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (1998) 402 p.' All interested students should contact Alex Buchel at abuchel@uwo.ca as soon as possible.

We derive a universal upper bound on the weight of the lowest primary operator in any two-dimensional conformal field theory with a given central charge. Translated into gravitational language using the AdS/CFT dictionary, our result proves rigorously that the lightest massive state in any theory of 3D gravity and matter with negative cosmological constant can be no heavier than a particular function the cosmological constant and the Planck scale. For a large AdS space, the lower bound approaches the mass of the lightest BTZ black hole. The derivation applies at finite central charge and does not rely on an asymptotic expansion at large central charge, or on any use of semiclassical or bulk physics. Neither does our proof rely on any special property of the CFT such as supersymmetry or holomorphic factorization. The only assumptions are unitarity, modular invariance, and a discrete spectrum. Our proof firmly demonstrates for the first time that there exists a universal center-of-mass energy beyond which a theory of 'pure' quantum gravity can never consistently be extended.

Fundamental interactions between elementary particles, using deep ideas involving mathematical symmetry for restoring unity to the fundamental laws of nature (strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism and gravity).

String theory, the high energy frontier of elementary particle physics, grand unifications into a single framework, mathematical beauty and supersymmetries, and uncovering the quantum structures of space and time.