Professor Manuel Drees

I am Professor for Theoretical Particle and Astro-Particle Physics at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universtät Bonn.

Lectures

SS 04: Theoretical Astro-Particle Physics
WS 04/05: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 05: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
         Seminar on Advanced Topics in Particle and Quantum Field Theory
WS 05/06: On sabbatical leave
SS 06: Astro-Particle Physics (together with Prof. Peter Schneider)
         Seminar on Relativistic Quantum Field Theory (together with Prof. Hans-Peter Nilles).
WS 06/07: Theoretische Physik 1
SS 07: Theoretische Physik 2b
WS 07/08: Collider Physics
SS 08: Astro-Particle Physics (together with Prof. Uli Klein)
WS 08/09: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 09: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
WS 09/10: Collider Physics
SS 10: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics;
         Seminar on Astroparticle Physics (together with Prof. Marek Kowalski).
WS 10/11: On sabbatical leave
SS 11: Theoretische Physik 1
         Seminar on Astroparticle Physics (together with Prof. Marek Kowalski).
WS 11/12: Theoretische Physik 2
SS 12: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics
WS 12/13: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 13: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
         Seminar on Astroparticle Physics (together with Prof. Marek Kowalski).
WS 13/14: Physics of the Higgs Particle
SS 14: Theoretische Physik 3: Quantenmechanik
WS 14/15: Advanced Quantum Theory
            Seminar on Hunting Physics beyond the Standard Model (with Profs. Dreiner, Hanhart, Krewald, Luu and Wirzba)
SS 15: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics
WS 15/16: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 16: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
WS 16/17: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics
SS 17: Theoretische Physik 1
        Seminar on Quantum Field Theory (with profs. Dreiner and Nilles)
WS 17/18: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 18: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
        Seminar on Evidence for Physics beyond the SM (with profs. Dreiner and Nilles)
WS 18/19: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 19: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics
WS 19/20: Theoretische Physik 2
SS 20: Theoretical Particle Physics 2
        Seminar on Advanced Topics in Quantum Field Theory (with profs. Dreiner and Kubis)
WS 20/21: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 21: Advanced Theoretical Particle Physics
WS 21/22: Advanced Quantum Theory
SS 22: Theoretical Astroparticle Physics
        Seminar on Advanced Topics in Quantum Field Theory (with prof. Duhr and Dr. Loebbert)
WS 22/23: Advanced Topics in Astroparticle Theory
SS 23: Theoretische Physik 1
WS 23/24: Theoretical Particle Physics 1
SS 24: Advanced Theoretical Particle Physics

SS 24:

Advanced Theoretical Particle Physics
Time and Place : Monday, 12:15 to 14:00,
                  Tuesday, 10:15 to 11:00; both times in HS 1, PI (i.e., in the big lecture room).
First Lecture: April 9 or April 15, 2024.
Note: It has recently been found that a bomb from the second world war might be buried underneath a nearby intersection. Specialists will investigate this on April 8. (Presumably they're busy before.) The university leadership has decided to proactively cancel all teaching in Poppelsdorf on April 8 and April 9. If no bomb is found on April 8, or if it is safely defused quickly, teaching on April 9 will be allowed; otherwise the first lecture of this class will have to wait until April 15, since I refuse to do "digital teaching".
Last Lecture: July 16, 2024.
Tutorials: Time and place : To be decided in the first week of classes
First session : The second week of classes.
The homework problems can be downloaded
here.
Figures shown in class can be found here.
The identities with two-component spinors etc can be found here .

The lecture is aimed at students interested in experimental and/or theoretical particle physics. Prior knowledge of relativistic quantum mechanics, and the Standard Model of particle physics (as covered, e.g., in the Theoretical Particle Physics 1 class) will be assumed. I will occasionally use results from Quantum Field Theory, but one should be able to follow this class without having taken lectures in Quantum Field Theory first. (Of course, everybody interested in particle theory should take the QFT classes, too!)

Only students who solve at least 50% of the homework problems of this class will be allowed to participate in the final exam!
At the beginning of each tutorial, the tutor will pass around a table with the homework problems of the week. Please mark the problems you have solved. Using this list, the tutor will call somebody to the blackboard, to show the solution.
If for some reason you cannot come to the tutorial, you can also send the solution directly to the tutor; please send a properly scanned PDF document, not just a (JPEG or similar) photo.
The lecture covers extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. More specifically, the following topics will be covered:
1) Neutrino oscillations and neutrino masses
2) Grand Unification of the gauge interactions
3) "Bottom-up" extensions of the SM
4) The hierarchy problem and possible solutions

Literature:
G. Ross, Grand Unified Theories, discusses both supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric GUTs.
Drees, Godbole and Roy, Theory and Phenomenology of Sparticles, gives an in-depth treatment of supersymmetry, with emphasis on phenomenological aspects.
Baer, Tata, Weak scale supersymmetry: From superfields to scattering events, is similar in scope to the previous book, but uses a different notation.
S. Martin, A Supersymmetry Primer (on the arXiv), offers a down-to-earth introduction to supersymmetry.
Peskin and Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, treats the underlying formalism, but also contains many particle physics applications.



Weekly Theoretical High Energy Physics seminar


Master and Doctoral Theses

Please contact me directly regarding possible topics.
I expect a Master thesis to contain new, previously unknown, scientific results. So far nearly all Bonn Diploma and Master theses in my group have led to journal publications. While I am (nearly) always available for questions and discussions, I generally encourage students to work as independently as possible. This means that I do not require regular progress reports; I expect students who have some questions to come to me on their own initiative.
Also, students who have their own idea about a topic for a Master thesis are very welcome, if it falls in my area of expertise.

If you are interested, please contact me directly for further information. I also encourage you to talk to some of the other members of my group before committing yourself.
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