Academic Team

Course Content

Type: Optional – PEC Track – 1st Trimester

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of quantum information and quantum computation, exploring their theoretical foundations, applications, and physical implementations. It addresses the concept of quantum entanglement both as an essential resource for quantum computing and communication, and as a tool for analyzing many-particle systems.

The syllabus ranges from classical computation models (Turing machine, circuit model, and logic gates) and thermodynamic principles of information (Landauer’s principle, Szilard engine) to key quantum phenomena such as the no-cloning theorem, quantum teleportation, and dense coding. Fundamental quantum algorithms are studied (including Deutsch, Grover, Quantum Fourier Transform, Phase Estimation, and Shor) along with universal quantum computation.

The course delves into quantum information theory (density matrix, Schmidt decomposition, generalized measurements, Shannon and Schumacher theorems) and techniques for characterizing and measuring entanglement. It also examines decoherence, quantum noise, noisy channels, and strategies for quantum error correction and fault tolerance.

A core component of the training is hands-on experience: students will use online quantum computing platforms such as IBM Quantum Experience and work with Qiskit to design, simulate, and execute simple quantum circuits.

Reading List

• M.A. Nielsen and I.L. Chuang, Quantum computation and quantum information. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2000).
• J. Preskill, Notes on Quantum Computation. N.D. Mermin, “Quantum computer science: an introduction”. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2007).

Teaching Plan Information

Course Schedule

Academic Team

Course Content

Type: Optional – PEC Track – 3rd Trimester

Experimental High Energy Physics: Physics at the LHC

This course provides an overview of the current state of experimental particle physics at the LHC, introducing students to the key measurements leading to test the Standard Model, including the electroweak and strong sectors and searches beyond the Standard Model.

Reading List

Introduction to accelerator and detector instrumentation and reconstruction of observables: the key elements of modern high-energy accelerators and detectors, the fundamentals and techniques of experiments in high-energy physics and methods for reconstructing particle properties are reviewed. Emphasis on the LHC accelerator and its experiments is given.

Tests of QCD at the LHC: introduction to the main reactions, such as processes involving jets, photons and heavy quarks, used at the LHC experiments to test the strong sector of the Standard Model.

Tests of the electroweak sector at the LHC: introduction to the main reactions, such as processes involving W and Z bosons, used at the LHC experiments to test the electroweak sector of the Standard Model.

Tests of the Standard Model and searches: measurements of top quarks (production and decay), measurements of Higgs boson (production and properties) and searches for new phenomena and particles at the LHC.

The final block of the course consists on a hands-on practical learning through supervised projects using real data from the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC. Students will practice programming, data analysis, and visualization, develop strategies for signal selection, control background noise, and evaluate statistical significance in a proposed project.

Reading List

Instrumentation

• W.R. Leo; Techniques for Nuclear and Particle-Physics Experiments; Springer-Verlag Berlin (1987, available online from CERN library).
• Richard Clinton Fernow; Introduction to Experimental Particle Physics; Cambridge University Press (open access: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009290098; Online publication date: November 2022).

History of particle physics (experiment and theory)

• Robert N. Cahn, G. Goldhaber; The Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics; Cambridge University Press (1993).
• Andrew Pickering; Constructing Quarks; The University of Chicago Press (1984).
• A. Ferrer, E. Ros; Fisica de partículas y de astropartículas; Publicaciones Universidad de Valencia (2005).

The Standard Model: theory and experiment

• Francis Halzen & Alan D. Martin; Quarks & leptons: an introductory course in modern particle physics; Wiley (1984, available online).
• Vernon D. Barger & Roger J.N. Phillips; Collider physics; Westview Press (1997)
• R. K. Ellis, W. J. Stirling & B. R. Webber; QCD and Collider Physics; Cambridge University Press (open access: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511628788; Online publication date: May 2010).

ATLAS & CMS physics: 13 TeV legacy articles

• ATLAS Collaboration, Climbing to the Top of the ATLAS 13 TeV data, Phys. Rep. 1116 (2025) 127-183, arXiv:2404.10674 [hep-ex].
• ATLAS Collaboration, Electroweak, QCD and flavour physics studies with ATLAS data from Run 2 of the LHC, Phys. Rep. 1116 (2025) 57-126, arXiv:2404.06829 [hep-ex].
• ATLAS Collaboration, Characterising the Higgs boson with ATLAS data from Run 2 of the LHC, Phys. Rep 1116 (2025) 4 -56, arXiv:2404.05498 [hep-ex]
• ATLAS Collaboration, Exploration at the high-energy frontier: ATLAS Run 2 searches investigating the exotic jungle beyond the Standard Model, Phys. Rep. 1116 (2025) 301-385, arXiv:2403.09292 [hep-ex].
• ATLAS Collaboration, The quest to discover supersymmetry at the ATLAS experiment, Phys. Rep. 1116 (2025) 261-300, arXiv:2403.02455 [hep-ex]
• ATLAS Collaboration, ATLAS searches for additional scalars and exotic Higgs boson decays with the LHC Run 2 dataset, Phys. Rep. 1116 (2025) 184-260, arXiv:2405.04914 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Stairway to discovery: a report on the CMS programme of cross section measurements from millibarns to femtobarns, Physics Report 1115 (2025) 3, arXiv:2405.18661 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Review of searches for vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, and heavy neutral leptons in proton-proton collisions at √s= 13 TeV at the CMS experiment, Physics Reports 1115 (2025) 570, arXiv:2405.17605 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Dark sector searches with the CMS experiment, Physics Reports 1115 (2025) 448, arXiv:2405.13778 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Overview of high-density QCD studies with the CMS experiment at the LHC, Physics Reports 1115 (2025) 219, arXiv:2405.10785 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Searches for Higgs boson production through decays of heavy resonances, Physics Reports 1115 (2025) 368, arXiv:2403.16926 [hep-ex].
• CMS Collaboration, Review of top quark mass measurements in CMS, Physics Reports 1115 (2025) 116, arXiv:2403.01313 [hep-ex].

Teaching Plan Information

Course Schedule

Academic Team

Course Content

Type: Optional– PEC Track – 3rd Trimester

This course explores the key unresolved questions in the Standard Model of Fundamental Interactions and the theoretical approaches proposed to address them. Students will examine topics such as chiral symmetry and light quarks, anomalies and their phenomenological impact, the hierarchy and flavour problems, neutrino physics, and the strong CP problem.

The syllabus covers:

• Symmetries of the Standard Model and the nature of fermion masses (Dirac and Majorana).
• Anomalies, B–L conservation, and chiral symmetry.
• Effective field theories and the hierarchy problem.
• Flavour physics: CKM and PMNS matrices, CP violation, the GIM mechanism, and matter–antimatter asymmetry.
• Neutrino oscillations, experimental results, and the Seesaw mechanism.
• The strong CP problem, electric dipole moments, and the axion.

Through lectures and discussions, students will gain a deeper understanding of the conceptual and experimental challenges that drive research beyond the Standard Model, equipping them with the knowledge base needed to engage with cutting-edge developments in particle physics.

Reading List

• Gauge Theory of Elementary Particle Physics, T.-P. Cheng & L.-F. Li (Oxford University Press)
• Dynamics of the Standard Model, J. Donoghue, E. Golowich & B. Holstein (Cambridge University Press)

Teaching Plan Information

Course Schedule

Academic Team

Course Content

Type: Optional– PEC Track – 2nd Trimester

This advanced Quantum Field Theory (QFT) course focuses on the path integral formulation as a unifying framework to describe and compute physical processes in high-energy physics. The course builds a deep understanding of renormalization in QFT, with a strong emphasis on gauge theories—both abelian (QED) and non-abelian (QCD). Students will develop technical skills to derive Feynman rules from the path integral, calculate loop corrections, and analyze the behavior of couplings via Renormalization Group (RG) equations.

A significant part of the course is devoted to the spontaneous breaking of symmetries—both global and local—and the Higgs mechanism, providing the theoretical foundation for the mass generation of gauge bosons in the Standard Model. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the mathematical and conceptual tools needed for cutting-edge research in theoretical particle physics and related fields.

Reading List

• T. Banks, Modern Quantum Field Theory: A Concise Introduction, Cambridge University Press.
• M. Peskin & D. Schroeder, An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, Addison-Wesley.
• M. Srednicki, Quantum Field Theory, Cambridge University Press.
• S. Weinberg, The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vols. I & II, Cambridge University Press.
• A. Zee, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press.
• J. Collins, Renormalization, Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics.
• M. D. Schwartz, Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model, Cambridge University Press.

Teaching Plan Information

Course Schedule

Academic Team

Course Content

Type: Optional– PEC Track – 1st Trimester

This course provides a solid foundation in the key mathematical tools used in modern theoretical physics, with a focus on differential geometry, group theory, and probability & statistics. Students will not only learn the theory but also apply these methods to real physical problems and data analysis. Emphasis is placed on mathematical reasoning, problem-solving, and collaborative work.

Main Topics

• Differential Geometry – Manifolds, tensor algebra, vector bundles, connections, curvature, Riemannian geometry, and basics of manifold topology.
• Group Theory – Lie groups and algebras, representation theory, classification of algebras, and applications to symmetries in physics (Poincaré, Lorentz, internal symmetries).
• Probability & Statistics – Probability distributions, estimators, hypothesis testing, Bayesian statistics, and Monte Carlo simulations.

Reading List

Group Theory:
1) H. Georgi: “Lie Algebras in Particle Physics”,
2) H.F. Jones: “Groups, Representations and Physics”
3) J.F. Cornwell: “Group Theory in Physcis”, Vols. 1,2

Differential Geometry:
1) Nash, Sen: “Topology and Geometry for Physicists”
2) M. Nakahara: “Geometry, Topology and Physics”

Teaching Plan Information

Course Schedule