General comments

Depending on the particular subject many different methods will be involved. As all modern research in theoretical physics they usually involve using computers with programming at various levels in either algebraic systems like Maple, Mathematica or Form, or numerical programming in a variety of languages but usually C++ or python. Topics and methods are dependent on which ideas the involved staff member currently have and which other research they are engaged in.

Bachelor theses

The underlying theoretical methods all use quantum field theory. As a consequence at the bachelor level thesis subjects typically concentrate on different aspects of precision- and flavour physics. Typical examples are given below and examples of previous bachelor theses are linked from the homepage of Johan Bijnens. Having done the course in "theoretical particle physics" is almost always a prerequisite.

• Using already existing calculations and fitting to data or results from other theoretical approaches and see how well they work.
• In some cases models can be formulated in a way involving only classical field theory (as in electromagnetism). Studies of solutions and consequences of these models.
• Concentrating on calculating a part of a larger calculation, examples here are Feynman loop integrals in special circumstances

Master theses

Master theses, especially those of 60 credits are much closer related to ongoing research and often are a part of a larger collaboration. As such they can lead to a scientific publication but do not always do so. Typical examples are given below and examples of previous bachelor theses are linked from the homepage of Johan Bijnens.

• In effective field theories constructing Lagrangians is a major effort. Constructing these for particular cases is a possible topic.
• (Feynman) Amplitudes for particular processes using different methods.
• Studying models for cases where effective field theory methods have too many free parameters.
• Connections with lattice QCD.

Other supervisors

Bachelor and master theses are often supervised by PhD students or postdoctoral fellows. In this case a senior is normally involved at a looser supervision level than the cases above.