Axions are peculiar hypothetical particles that could both solve the CP problem of quantum chromodynamics and at the same time account for the dark matter of the universe. Based on a series of lectures by world experts in this field held at CERN (Geneva), this volume provides a pedagogical introduction to the theory, cosmology and astrophysics of these fascinating particles and gives an up-to-date account of the status and prospect of ongoing and planned experimental searches.
Much of what we know about neutrinos is revealed by astronomical observations, and the same applies to the axion, a conjectured new particle that is a favored candidate for the main component of the dark matter of the universe.
The nature of dark matter remains one of the preeminent mysteries in physics and cosmology. It appears to require the existence of new particles whose interactions to ordinary matter are extraordinarily feeble. One well-motivated candidate is the axion, an extraordinarily light neutral particle that may possibly be detected by looking for their conversion to detectable microwaves in the presence of a strong magnetic field. This has led to a number of experimental searches that are beginning to probe plausible axion model space and may discover the axion in the near future. These proceedings discuss the challenges of designing and operating tunable resonant cavities and detectors at ultralow temperatures. The topics discussed here have potential application far beyond the field of dark matter detection and may be applied to resonant cavities for accelerators as well as designing superconducting detectors for quantum information and computing applications. This work is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in learning the unique requirements for designing and operating microwave cavities and detectors for direct axion searches and to introduce several proposed experimental concepts that are still in the prototype stage.
One of the major open questions in high energy physics and cosmology is the nature and origin of dark matter. Dark Matter in Astrophysics and Particle Physics 1998 provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of research in this topical field. The book brings together leading researchers from around the world to review recent progress and future directions for research in the different approaches to the dark matter problem. It collects results from cosmology, large-scale structure, and accelerator and nonaccelerator physics. The book also reviews the correlations between and the virtues of each of the fields for the determination of abundance, nature, and origin of dark matter.
At least eighty percent of the mass of the universe consists of some material which, unlike ordinary matter, neither emits nor absorbs light. This book collects key papers related to the discovery of this astonishing fact and its profound implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and the physics of elementary particles. The book focuses on the likely possibility that the dark matter is composed of an as yet undiscovered elementary particle, and examines the boundaries of our present knowledge of the properties such a particle must possess.
Understanding the origins of the Universe and how it works and evolves is the present mission of a large community of physicists. It calls for a large scale vision, involving general relativity, astrophysics, and cosmology. Theoretical physics is presently at an important moment in its history. As predicted by Einstein, gravitational waves have been experimentally proven to exist. With the discovery of the Higgs boson, the set of interactions and elementary particles that is called the "standard model" (SM), is complete. Yet the Higgs boson itself, and how it breaks the electroweak symmetry, remains a fascinating subject requiring further studies and verification. Furthermore, several experimental facts are not accounted for by the SM: (i) the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, (ii) the nature and origin of dark matter, and (iii) the origin of neutrino masses; these have no unique, if any, explanation in the SM and yet will require answers from particle physics. We need to explore further both SM and its extensions. This is a subject of papers included in this book, which gives representation to the topics discussed during the Matter to the Deepest conference in 2019 in Poland (http://indico.if.us.edu.pl/event/5).
Contents:Theory: Electroweak Baryon Number Non-Conservation in Particle Physics and Cosmology (V A Rubakov)Constraints and Model Considerations for a 17 keV Neutrino (R D Peccei)Solar Neutrinos:Measurement of the Solar υe Flux with the Homestake 37Cl Detector (K Lande)SAGE: The Soviet-American Gallium Solar Neutrino Experiment (V N Gavrin)Calorimetric Measurements of an Artificial Netrino Source Activity for the Baksan Gallium-Germanium Neutrino Telescope (I N Belousov et al)The Status of Gallex (R Wink)The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (D Sinclair)Results from Underground Experiments: Recent Results from IBM (J LoSecco & J Learned)Analysis of Rare Signals at the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope (E N Alexeev)Dark Matter:Axion Searches (P Sikivie)Gamma and Neutrino Astronomy/Astrophics: Five Year Anniversary of Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (D K Nadyozhin)Neutrino Physics and Core Collapse Supernovae (W Hillebrandt)Cosmic Rays Origin in Active Galactic Nuclei (V I Dokuchaev)Future Experiments: Super-Kamiokande (Y Totsuka)The Lake Baikal Neutino Project (L B Bezrukov)Towards the Third Generation of Resonant Gravitational Wave Detectors (F Ricci) Readership: Particle physicists and astrophysicists. keywords:
The Early Universe has become the standard reference on forefront topics in cosmology, particularly to the early history of the Universe. Subjects covered include primordial nubleosynthesis, baryogenesis, phases transitions, inflation, dark matter, and galaxy formation, relics such as axions, neutrinos and monopoles, and speculations about the Universe at the Planck time. The book includes more than ninety figures as well as a five-page update discussing recent developments such as the COBE results.
This comprehensive volume of articles from the seventh school on non-accelerator astroparticle physics presents a timely coverage of this interesting and rapidly expanding subject. The contributions enlarge and complement the earlier volumes prepared for the fourth, fifth and sixth schools. An informative, pedagogical approach has been maintained so that the book can serve as the basis for a modern course on the subject.The first section introduces the fundamentals of particle physics with a review of the standard model and beyond. The comprehensive section on neutrino physics and astrophysics covers neutrino masses and oscillations, short and long baseline neutrino experiments, atmospheric and solar neutrinos, and neutrino telescopes. The section on dark matter includes a theoretical presentation and a review of existing and potential dark matter searches. Searches for axions, magnetic monopoles, and nuclearites are also discussed. Cosmic rays and astrophysics are covered with reviews on experiments in space, extreme energy cosmic rays, and photons and antimatter in space. The theory of gravitational waves and searches for gravitational waves are considered. A section deals with the LEP legacy and future accelerators and superbeams. Large scale facilities, detectors, data acquisition and large scale computing are reviewed. The volume concludes with an in-depth look at the impact of science on the world with essays looking back on the past century of scientific progress and its effects on society.
