Introduction to charm physics

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of charm physics. It is a lecture write-up aimed at students with a minimum of prior knowledge in particle physics, but at the same time provides a state-of-the art review of the field. The main focus is on mixing and CP violation, which is a field with ever growing attention since first evidence for charm mixing was observed in 2007. Other areas covered are charm spectroscopy, production, as well as rare decays.