I’d like to use some part of this summer to learn some Standard Model physics – my ignorance is growing rather inexcusable. The plan is to first brush up on Nonabelian gauge theories, and then jump to the Standard Model as soon as is convenient. The main text I’m going to follow is Srednicki’s book on QFT. It provides an accessible route through the maze of theoretical machinery. I’ve made a list of sections I’d like to cover in the book, with prerequisite sections in brackets. I certainly won’t get through it all, but any progress will be worth the effort put in. I’m hoping this path will be a good mix of neat theoretical concepts and connections to real world physics.

The plan is:

24. Nonabelian symmetries

69. Nonabelian gauge theory (24, 58)

70. Group Representations (69)

71. & 72. Path integral and Feynman rules for Nonabelian gauge theory. (53, 69)

32. Spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetries (22, 30)

84. Spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetries (32, 70)

87. The Standard Model: gauge and Higgs sector (84)

75. Chiral gauge theories and anomalies (70, 72)

76. Anomalies in global symmetries (75)

88. The Standard Model: lepton sector (75, 87)

89. The Standard Model: quark sector (88)

82. Wilson loops, lattice theory, and confinement (29, 73)

83. Chiral symmetry breaking (76, 82)

90. Electroweak interaction of hadrons (83, 89)

91. Neutrino masses (89)