Prof. Gabriele Travaglini Project Abstracts

BSc Project Abstracts

From the Lorentz group to scattering amplitudes
This project aims at constructing scattering amplitudes of elementary particles such as gluons or gravitons using recent ideas inspired by twistor string theory. Major progress in this field has been achieved over the past few years, leading to a reformulation and reorganisation of gauge theories and gravity, as well as to new, powerful techniques to compute scattering amplitudes - also in phenomenologically relevant theories, such as Quantum Chromodynamics. Starting from the study of the symmetries of these theories, we will review some of the most important novel techniques obtained recently, concentrating mostly on the so-called maximally supersymmetric theories. 
Pre-requisites Mathematical Techniques 3, Physical Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics B, Quantum Mechanics and Symmetry.
Co-requisite: Mathematical Techniques 4

MSci Review Project Abstracts

Path integrals in quantum mechanics, instantons and monopoles
In this project we will begin by studying Feynman's beautiful path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. We will then describe highly nontrivial solutions of the equations of motion which correspond to tunnelling processes between vacua of the theory, known as instantons - the simplest example to consider here is that of a particle in a double-well potential. In the second, more advanced part of this project we will introduce Yang-Mills equations, which describe gluons at the classical level, and will study nontrivial solutions of these equations known as monopoles and instantons. Instanton-dominated processes are not seen in perturbation theory and have important physical applications, such as dynamical breaking of supersymmetry in certain models of particles. 

Pre-requisites: Mathematical Techniques 3, Physical Dynamics
Co-requisites: Quantum Mechanics B, Quantum Mechanics and Symmetry 

MSci Research/Investigative Project Abstracts