This volume presents the newest results and developments in the fast-moving field of astroparticle physics. The following topics are covered: dark matter, baryogenesis, neutrino physics and astrophysics, inflation, topological defects, cosmic ray physics and cosmological implications of grand unification, supersymmetry, superstrings and extra dimensions.
This volume presents the newest results and developments in the fast-moving field of astroparticle physics. The following topics are covered: dark matter, baryogenesis, neutrino physics and astrophysics, inflation, topological defects, cosmic ray physics and cosmological implications of grand unification, supersymmetry, superstrings and extra dimensions.
Recent experimental results with direct bearing on theories of cosmological dark matter/energy, as well as continuing work on neutrino masses and mixing, have invigorated both particle physics and cosmology, and should continue to do so well into the 21st century, thereby launching a beautiful new epoch for these fields. The expert contributions from this conference took stock of these developments. This volume contains papers by over 40 physicists that summarize and interpret the newest findings, and suggest future avenues to be explored. A number of new theoretical ideas are also presented, dealing with progress in understanding the dynamics and symmetries of strings and branes, renormalization in quantum field theory, possible Lorentz violation effects, and related problems. Ongoing and next generation gravitational and neutrino experiments are described, and the issues of unification are dealt with in the context of, and beyond, the standard model. Together, the contributions provide a useful blend of experimental and theoretical physics from many prominent physicists, including three Nobel Laureates. The volume also contains information of an historical nature, concerning the contributions to physics by Paul Frampton, on the occasion of his 60th year, and summarizing the career of Behram Kursunoglu (1922-2003).
COSMO 98 facilitated the interaction among particle physicists, cosmologists, and astronomers, so that advances in understanding the smallest domain of sub-nuclear physics and of the largest reaches of the universe could each affect the other area. This interplay has produced remarkable progress, but it has also exposed interesting conflicts which should lead to further progress.
The Standard Model of the electromagnetic and weak interactions offers no explanations for the origin of the fermion mass and mixing parameters, except that they arise from Yukawa couplings, which are free parameters of the Model. The problem is worse when the question of neutrino masses is considered and, despite its remarkable success on many fronts, the Standard Model cannot explain some important experimental observations. In particular, it is not possible to describe the phenomena of neutrino oscillations that has been uncovered in recent years and, from a particle physics viewpoint, this provides the most convincing evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Following the trend of the previous workshops, we focus also on the presentation of the current status of the main accelerator and non-accelerator neutrino mass experiments (such as Super-Kamiokande, and SNO), the future experimental projects (e.g., MiniBoone) and some of the phenomenology related to them, as well as reviews of the theoretical and phenomenological ideas related to the question of neutrino masses and related topics such as the explanation for the observed baryon asymmetry in the universe.
The Standard Model of the electromagnetic and weak interactions offers no explanations for the origin of the fermion mass and mixing parameters, except that they arise from Yukawa couplings, which are free parameters of the Model. The problem is worse when the question of neutrino masses is considered and, despite its remarkable success on many fronts, the Standard Model cannot explain some important experimental observations. In particular, it is not possible to describe the phenomena of neutrino oscillations that has been uncovered in recent years and, from a particle physics viewpoint, this provides the most convincing evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Following the trend of the previous workshops, we focus also on the presentation of the current status of the main accelerator and non-accelerator neutrino mass experiments (such as Super-Kamiokande, and SNO), the future experimental projects (e.g., MiniBoone) and some of the phenomenology related to them, as well as reviews of the theoretical and phenomenological ideas related to the question of neutrino masses and related topics such as the explanation for the observed baryon asymmetry in the universe.
