This book contains the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Physics Beyond the Standard Models of Particle Physics, Cosmology and Astrophysics. It presents a brilliant overview of the status and future potential and trends in experimental and theoretical particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics, in the complimentary sectors of accelerator, non-accelerator and space physics.
In the last 20 years the disciplines of particle physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics and cosmology have grown together in an unprecedented way. A brilliant example is nuclear double beta decay, an extremely rare radioactive decay mode, which is one of the most exciting and important fields of research in particle physics at present and the flagship of non-accelerator particle physics.While already discussed in the 1930s, only in the 1980s was it understood that neutrinoless double beta decay can yield information on the Majorana mass of the neutrino, which has an impact on the structure of space-time. Today, double beta decay is indispensable for solving the problem of the neutrino mass spectrum and the structure of the neutrino mass matrix. The potential of double beta decay has also been extended such that it is now one of the most promising tools for probing beyond-the-standard-model particle physics, and gives access to energy scales beyond the potential of future accelerators.This book presents the breathtaking manner in which achievements in particle physics have been made from a nuclear physics process. Consisting of a 150-page highly factual overview of the field of double beta decay and a 1200-page collection of the most important original articles, the book outlines the development of double beta decay research — theoretical and experimental — from its humble beginnings until its most recent achievements, with its revolutionary consequences for the theory of particle physics. It further presents an outlook on the exciting future of the field.
This new Research Topic is, in part, a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the game-changing “neural correlates of consciousness” concept, first proposed as part of Crick and Koch’s 1990 “neurobiological theory of consciousness.” After thirty years of research and theory-building, scholars in the science of consciousness are perhaps not much closer to a widely-accepted theory of consciousness.
Dark matter in the Universe has become one of the most exciting and central fields of astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. The lectures and talks in this book emphasize the experimental and theoretical status and perspectives of the ongoing search for dark matter, and the future potential of the field into the next millennium, stressing in particular the interplay between astro- and particle physics.
An introduction to various issues related to the theory and phenomenology of massive neutrinos for the nonexpert, also providing a discussion of results in the field for the active researcher. All the necessary techniques and logics are included and topics such as supersymmetry are covered.
The steering committee was specifically asked to (1) provide an overview of the current state of astronomy and astrophysics science, and technology research in support of that science, with connections to other scientific areas where appropriate; (2) identify the most compelling science challenges and frontiers in astronomy and astrophysics, which shall motivate the committee’s strategy for the future; (3) develop a comprehensive research strategy to advance the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics for the period 2022-2032 that will include identifying, recommending, and ranking the highest-priority research activities; (4) utilize and recommend decision rules, where appropriate, that can accommodate significant but reasonable deviations in the projected budget or changes in urgency precipitated by new discoveries or unanticipated competitive activities; (5) assess the state of the profession, including workforce and demographic issues in the field, identify areas of concern and importance to the community, and where possible, provide specific, actionable, and practical recommendations to the agencies and community to address these areas. This report proposes a broad, integrated plan for space- and ground-based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade 2023-2032. It also lays the foundations for further advances in the following decade.
The principal goals of the study were to articulate the scientific rationale and objectives of the field and then to take a long-term strategic view of U.S. nuclear science in the global context for setting future directions for the field. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter provides a long-term assessment of an outlook for nuclear physics. The first phase of the report articulates the scientific rationale and objectives of the field, while the second phase provides a global context for the field and its long-term priorities and proposes a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond. In the second phase of the study, also developing a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond, the committee carefully considered the balance between universities and government facilities in terms of research and workforce development and the role of international collaborations in leveraging future investments. Nuclear physics today is a diverse field, encompassing research that spans dimensions from a tiny fraction of the volume of the individual particles (neutrons and protons) in the atomic nucleus to the enormous scales of astrophysical objects in the cosmos. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter explains the research objectives, which include the desire not only to better understand the nature of matter interacting at the nuclear level, but also to describe the state of the universe that existed at the big bang. This report explains how the universe can now be studied in the most advanced colliding-beam accelerators, where strong forces are the dominant interactions, as well as the nature of neutrinos.
This second open access volume of the handbook series deals with detectors, large experimental facilities and data handling, both for accelerator and non-accelerator based experiments. It also covers applications in medicine and life sciences. A joint CERN-Springer initiative, the "Particle Physics Reference Library" provides revised and updated contributions based on previously published material in the well-known Landolt-Boernstein series on particle physics, accelerators and detectors (volumes 21A, B1,B2,C), which took stock of the field approximately one decade ago. Central to this new initiative is publication under full open access
In recent years the fields of both particle physics and astrophysics have become increasingly interdependent. High energy particle physics experiments are ever more difficult and expensive to perform in conventional laboratories and it is apparent that there are sources and accelerators in the cosmos which can be used for experiments which would be impossible on the Earth. At the same time, astrophysicists have found that an understanding of particle physics is essential to describe many observed phenomena (such as dark matter, solar neutrinos and cosmic rays) and also to provide any detailed description of the early universe. In this climate of interdisciplinary research more and more researchers are crossing traditional subject boundaries in order to study what has become known as Particle Astrophysics. This book, conceived as a more specialised follow-up to one of the authors earlier works (Non-accelerator Particle Physics by Klapdor-Kleingrothaus and Staudt) gives a graduate level account of the physics of particle astrophysics. It describes, at an introductory level, the close connection between the microcosm (particles) and the macrocosm (Universe). The approach is wide ranging and succeeds in introducing all of the major theoretical concepts as well as describing the most recent experimental and observational evidence in the field. As such it will be invaluable to anyone approaching the subject from either particle physics or astrophysics.
