In
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
, phenomenology is the application of
theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...
to
experimental data by making quantitative
prediction
A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dictum'', "something said") or forecast is a statement about a future event or about future data. Predictions are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge of forecasters. There ...
s based upon known theories. It is related to the
philosophical notion of the same name in that these predictions describe anticipated behaviors for the phenomena in reality. Phenomenology stands in contrast with experimentation in the
scientific method
The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...
, in which the goal of the experiment is to test a scientific
hypothesis
A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...
instead of making predictions.
Phenomenology is commonly applied to the field of
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
, where it forms a bridge between the
mathematical models of theoretical physics (such as
quantum field theories and theories of the structure of
space-time
In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three-dimensional space, three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum (measurement), continu ...
) and the results of the high-energy particle experiments. It is sometimes used in other fields such as in
condensed matter physics
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid State of matter, phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and elec ...
and
plasma physics
Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...
,
when there are no existing theories for the observed experimental data.
Applications in particle physics
Standard Model consequences
Within the well-tested and generally accepted
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
,
phenomenology
Phenomenology may refer to:
Art
* Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties
Philosophy
* Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...
is the calculating of detailed predictions for experiments, usually at high precision (e.g., including
radiative corrections).
Examples include:
*
Next-to-leading order calculations of
particle production rates and distributions.
*
Monte Carlo simulation studies of physics processes at
colliders.
* Extraction of
parton distribution functions from data.
CKM matrix calculations
The CKM matrix is useful in these predictions:
* Application of
heavy quark effective field theory to extract
CKM matrix elements.
* Using
lattice QCD to extract quark masses and CKM matrix elements from experiment.
Theoretical models
In
Physics beyond the Standard Model, phenomenology addresses the experimental consequences of new
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
s: how their new particles could be searched for, how the model parameters could be measured, and how the model could be distinguished from other, competing models.
Phenomenological analysis
Phenomenological analyses, in which one studies the experimental consequences of adding the most general set of beyond-the-Standard-Model effects in a given
sector of the Standard Model, usually parameterized in terms of anomalous
couplings and higher-dimensional operators. In this case, the term "
phenomenological" is being used more in its
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
sense.
See also
*
Effective theory
*
Phenomenological model
A phenomenological model is a scientific model that describes the empirical relationship of phenomena to each other, in a way which is consistent with fundamental theory, but is not directly derived from theory. In other words, a phenomenological ...
*
Phenomenological quantum gravity
Phenomenological quantum gravity is the research field that deals with the phenomenology of quantum gravity. The relevance of this research area derives from the fact that none of the candidate theories for quantum gravity has yielded experimentall ...
References
External links
Papers on phenomenology are available on the hep-ph archiveof the
ArXiv.org e-print archive
List of topics on phenomenologyfrom IPPP, the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at
University of Durham, UK
Collider Phenomenology: Basic knowledge and techniques lectures by Tao Han
Pheno '08 Symposiumon particle physics phenomenology, including slides from the talks linked from the symposium program.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phenomenology (Particle Physics)
Condensed matter physics
Experimental particle physics
Experimental physics
Particle physics
Phenomenological methodology
Theoretical physics