GRK 570: Gauge theories - experimental tests and theoretical foundations

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In the last 25 years gauge theories have turned out to be the most promising theories to describe the fundamental interactions between the elementary constituents of matter. Precursor and model of such theories was, since 1930, quantum electrodynamics, to which in 1967 the electroweak theory was added as the unified theory ofelectromagnetic and weak interactions. Finally in 1974 also the theory of strong interactions between the constituents of hadrons, quantumchromodynamics, could be formulated along the same principles. In the last decade physics has made considerable progress towards the aim ofunderstanding all forces in a unified theory. Only the full integration of gravity is missing. Gauge theories are extremely successful at high energies. Application of quantum chromodynamics in the medium energy range is still difficult. Here "effective models", like e.g. "chiral perturbation theory", with a QCD background give precise predictions which can be tested experimentally.In this research training group both experimental and theoretical groups work together in the exploration of gauge theories. The experiments take place at the accelerators of CERN (SPS and LHC), at the US research laboratory Fermilab near Chicago, at the Mainz microtron MAMI and at the neutrino telescop AMANDA.