Research in high energy phenomenology.

[arroy_0205]

For doing research in high energy physics phenomenology, specially in physics beyond standard model, what background should one have? What are the tools researchers in this area generally use? Do you think research in this area to be hard? In phenomenology papers, sometimes very complicated and hard to derive results are used. Is a phenomenologist supposed to know how to derive those results?

My questions may be somewhat subjective and not precise, but I am not able to state in clearer terms. Still I hope, some suggestions/answers are possible. Please help me with any relevant idea you may have. Thanks.

 

[blechman]

You might get better responses in the "careers" section...

The most important thing to learn is Quantum Field Theory. This is the language which you use to discuss everything. The canonical textbook these days (at least in the US) is Peskin-Schroder. You cannot be an active researcher in this field without a firm understanding of pretty much everything in this book.

Of course, to truly understand QFT, you must have a mastery of both Quantum Mechanics and (classical) E&M, things you usually get in the first year of graduate school courses. Stat Mech is also important (but perhaps less so than what I already mentioned).

Everything else you get as you go. It totally depends on what your precise area of research is. I wrote a thesis on SUSY models and extra dimensions, so I learned those. Other people did other things and are experts in those subfields. Once you have a firm understanding of QFT and all it implies, the rest is really just details.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure that answers your question (without more knowledge of your background and motivation for asking the question in the first place) but I hope that helps for what it's worth.

As for "is it HARD": well... I could do it, so it must not be all that bad...

 

[jackwatch]

Einstein had to get help learning differential equations before he could publish some of his ideas. Knowing the language is important

 

[arroy_0205]

Thanks for the response. Yes the answer does help. I am asking because I may join research in near future and I have option to work in the area I mentioned. I have learned some parts of the Peskin-Schroeder book but not 100% of it.

 

[blechman]

if you're a grad student, my strongest advise to you is to find an adviser and do what he/she tells you to do! ask him/her tons of questions, no matter how stupid they sound. when i started out, i had a rule that i would ask my adviser AT LEAST one physics question a day. that meant i had to LOOK for questions to ask, and it really did a lot in (1) teaching me the field, and (2) convincing my adviser that i am serious about doing research!

this advise is valid for ANY field of physics, not just high-energy theory.

also: go to seminars. you will almost certainly not understand any of them, but that doesn't matter. just go. people will start to recognize you, and also you will find that the more you go, the more you will be able to pick up, even if it's just, "Hey, I remember the last guy used the same words!"