Date

5-11-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to research leading mass-generation theoretical models in particle physics; Which is the physics that fundamentally imparts mass on the known elementary particles. Before these mechanisms, all particles are massless quantum fields. As part of a 2021 REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) and a team investigating quark mass at Jefferson National Lab, I worked on a mechanical design of the Lepton Direction Electromagnetic calorimeter part of the detector upgrade for the Brookhaven National Laboratory. As integral as this effort is, because the theoretical aspects of mass generation and quark mass physics are traditionally beyond what undergraduates have access to and exposure to, I was not able to fully appreciate or understand the mathematics of Quantum Field Theory. The theory group at the Jefferson Laboratory examined relativistic quantum field theory, the Standard Model of particle physics, renormalization, and the Higgs Mechanism. Above all, these theories rely on diagrammatic computations using Feynman diagrams. The purpose of my honors thesis will be to learn these theoretical fields and how to compute using Feynman diagrams and to research the mass generation theoretical models that rely on and expand on the former foundations and that were the primary scientific questions being investigated. This will position me at the level to understand the larger REU investigation and prepare me for graduate school in this field.

Department

Mathematics and Physics, Photonics and Optical Engineering

Thesis Comittee

Dr. Edward F. Deveney, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Vignon Oussa, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Nguyenho Ho, Committee Member

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