260092 VO Elementary Particle Physics I (2008W)

Physics is an experimental science. Experiments have yielded the motivation for new research and continue to do so. They allow to prove or reject theories. Therefore, our understanding of the subatomic world will be illustrated based on a description of fundamental experiments, each of which throws light on one of its aspects: from the structure of the proton, the existence of weakly interacting particles, the second and third generations of quarks and leptons, W and Z bosons as mediators of electroweak interactions and important ingredients of the "Standard Model" of elementary particles, the violation of fundamental symmetries such as parity and CP violation, and the observation of neutrino oscillations up to experiments which are currently underway and are looking for the remaining piece in the Standard Model - the Higgs particle - and for postulated physical phenomena that go beyond it, such as "supersymmetric" particles.