Starting week 45, 2024 – every Tuesday from 10am - 12pm in room B1 – ending week 51, 2024

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the mathematical theory that describes the strong nuclear force in terms of interactions between quarks and gluons. It is an integral part of the Standard Model and fundamental to understanding particle physics.

In the low energy regime, QCD cannot be described perturbatively, so a non-perturbative tool is needed. Lattice QCD is a numerical formulation of QCD based on the path integral formulation of quantum field theories, where the theory is formulated on a spacetime lattice. Physical observables are then computed numerically using Monte Carlo methods.

In the last few decades, lattice QCD has become a well-established field of research using the world's largest supercomputing facilities. This course provides an introduction to this field of research.

Learning results of the course:

By the end of the course, students will have seen the theoretical foundations of lattice field theories, as well as basic numerical approaches to the calculation of observables in lattice QCD. From the theoretical side, the path integral formulation of quantum field theories will be discussed, along with its central role in the context of lattice QCD. Furthermore, the discretization of quantum fields will be discussed, both for scalar and fermionic degrees of freedom. On the numerical side, basic numerical algorithms for Monte Carlo methods will be discussed and how they are used in the context of lattice QCD. The course will also provide an overview of a selection of state-of-the- art results from modern lattice QCD calculations.

Lecturer:

Prof. Dr. Fernando Romero-López