Department of Particle Theory - Overview

Full text: In the year 2000 theoretical research was continued on fundamental particles and their interactions. As in the previous years, these studies were closely related to current and future high energy experiments as well as to other experimental studies in particle physics. A dominant part of our activities was devoted to precision tests of the Standard Model and searches for its extensions. In particular, studies were pursued on precision predictions for the LEP2 observables, where for the first time effects of the quantum structure of the Standard Model were checked experimentally. This was the most important and time-consuming part of our work on physics of high energy accelerators, including present and future colliders: LEP, TESLA, Tevatron, LHC, B-, τ- and K-factories. Topics in the following section cover a wide range of particle physics, from processes involving the heaviest particles of the Standard Model down to tiny masses of the neutrinos and massless photons. The list of subjects studied in our Department includes: * physics of the W bosons and four-fermion processes at LEP2/TESLA energies; * two-fermion production processes at present and future colliders; * old and new physics at hadron colliders, specially Higgs boson production and backgrounds; * new developments in Monte Carlo simulation techniques; * production and decay of heavy quarks and τ-lepton; * neutrino effects. The members of the Department actively participated in international working groups studying the physics potential of existing and planned high energy colliders. In particular, S. Jadach was a convenor of the group Linear Collider ECFA/DESY Workshop. S Jadach and Z. Was were organizers of the LEP2 Monte Carlo Workshop. S. Jadach was one of the editors of the final document and Z.Was was coordinating the work on its 2-fermion section. E. Richter-Was continues her work as a convenor of the ATLAS Collaboration Higgs Working Group. It should be also mentioned that E. Richter-Was continues her work in the Advisory Committee and and Editorial Board of the ATLAS Collaboration and Z. Was is an editor of the journal Computer Physics Communications. Our Department played the leading role in organising the ''Cracow Epiphany Conference on Neutrinos in Physics and Astrophysics'', held in Cracow on January 6-9, 2000. M. Jezabek and M. Skrzypek were editors of the conference proceedings. (author)