Collider Physics within the Standard Model: a Primer

Abstract

The first LHC results at 7-8 TeV, with the discovery of a candidate Higgs boson and the non observation of new particles or exotic phenomena, have made a big step towards completing the experimental confirmation of the Standard Model (SM) of fundamental particle interactions. It is thus a good moment for me to collect, update and improve my graduate lecture notes on Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and the theory of Electroweak (EW) Interactions, with main focus on Collider Physics. I hope that these lectures can provide an introduction to the subject for the interested reader, assumed to be already familiar with quantum field theory and some basic facts in elementary particle physics as taught in undergraduate courses.