Effective Lagrangians for the standard model (Q4368784)

This book is devoted to some recently developed techniques in quantum field theory (QFT), as well as to their main applications to different areas of particle physics. Alltogether, the methods are known as the effective or phenomenological Lagrangian formalism. The authors give a modern and pedagogical exposition of the most relevant aspects of the topic. The book will be useful both for graduated students searching for a solid theoretical background in modern phenomenology and for more experimental particle physicists willing to learn about this field or to start working on it. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the most basic concepts and techniques of QFT, gauge theories, the standard model (SM) and differential geometry, at the level of graduate studies. From the Contents: \(\bullet\) The Notion of Effective Lagrangian \(\bullet\) Global Symmetries in Quantum Field Theory \(\bullet\) The Non-linear \(\sigma\) Model \(\bullet\) Anomalies \(\bullet\) The Symmetries of the Standard Model \(\bullet\) The Effective Lagrangian for QCD \(\bullet\) The Standard Model Symmetry Breaking Sector \(\bullet\) Gravity and the Standard Model In Chapter 1 the authors introduce the notion of the effective Lagrangian and discuss its main properties. They also discuss the issue of decoupling in QFT. In Chapter 2 the authors review the issue of global symmetries in QFT and how they are realized in terms of Ward identities. In Chapter 3 they show in detail the geometrical interpretation and how to build the non-linear sigma models (NLSM). They also discuss the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of gauged symmetries in NLSM as well as the existence and interpretation of topologically non-trivial solutions (Skyrmions). The appearance of anomalies in QFT is discussed in detail in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5 the authors review the SM from the point of view of its symmetries and their realization concentrating on the study of the weak and strong CP violation as well as on the conditions on the hypercharges coming from the cancellation of the gauge anomalies. In Chapter 6 the authors follow the pioneering ideas of Weinberg and the very complete works by Gasser and Leutwyler, who founded what it is nowadays known as the modern chiral perturbation theory. In Chapter 7 the authors introduce the electroweak chiral Lagrangian, obtaining some of its one-loop predictions, and they review possible ways of determining the effective parameters phenomenologically. In Chapter 8 the authors consider first the formulation of the SM in the presence of weak gravitational fields and second they study the effect of the SM matter on the gravitational action. The book also contains four appendices dealing with basic notions of geometry and QFT.