This highly-regarded text provides a comprehensive introduction to modern particle physics. Extensively rewritten and updated, this 4th edition includes developments in elementary particle physics, as well as its connections with cosmology and astrophysics. As in previous editions, the balance between experiment and theory is continually emphasised. The stress is on the phenomenological approach and basic theoretical concepts rather than rigorous mathematical detail. Short descriptions are given of some of the key experiments in the field, and how they have influenced our thinking. Although most of the material is presented in the context of the Standard Model of quarks and leptons, the shortcomings of this model and new physics beyond its compass (such as supersymmetry, neutrino mass and oscillations, GUTs and superstrings) are also discussed. The text includes many problems and a detailed and annotated further reading list.
The book gives a quite complete and up-to-date picture of the Standard Theory with an historical perspective, with a collection of articles written by some of the protagonists of present particle physics. The theoretical developments are described together with the most up-to-date experimental tests, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the measurement of its mass as well as the most precise measurements of the top mass, giving the reader a complete description of our present understanding of particle physics.
This is a new text on Quantum Chromodynamics, the theory of the strong force between quarks, the fundamental building blocks of nuclear matter. Although the focus is on experiments, the text also includes anextensive theoretical introduction to the field as well as many exercises with solutions explained in detail.
Experimental Techniques in High-Energy Nuclear and Particle Physics is a compilation of outstanding technical papers and reviews of the ingenious methods developed for experimentation in modern nuclear and particle physics. This book, a second edition, provides a balanced view of the major tools and technical concepts currently in use, and elucidates the basic principles that underly the detection devices. Several of the articles in this volume have never been published, or have appeared in relatively inaccessible journals. Although the emphasis is on charged-particle tracking and calorimetry, general reviews of ionization detectors and Monte Carlo techniques are also included.This book serves as a compact source of reference for graduate students and experimenters in the fields of nuclear and particle physics, seeking information on some of the major ideas and techniques developed for modern experiments in these fields.
This book presents an extended introduction to the theory of hadrons, the elementary particles that occur in the atomic nucleus. The main emphasis is on the theory of the complex angular momentum plane 'Regge theory'. In 1959 Tullio Regge demonstrated that it is useful to regard angular momentum as a complex variable when discussing solutions of the Schrödinger equation for non-relativistic potential scattering. This theory helps to classify the many different particles we know of, to explain the forces between them and to predict the results of high-energy scattering experiments. Regge theory thus serves as a unifying concept drawing together many different features of high-energy physics. This monograph is intended primarily for research students just beginning in particle physics, but experienced practitioners will also find much of interest. Originally published in 1977, this title has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.
In Shifting Standards, Allan Franklin provides an overview of notable experiments in particle physics. Using papers published in Physical Review, the journal of the American Physical Society, as his basis, Franklin details the experiments themselves, their data collection, the events witnessed, and the interpretation of results. From these papers, he distills the dramatic changes to particle physics experimentation from 1894 through 2009. Franklin develops a framework for his analysis, viewing each example according to exclusion and selection of data; possible experimenter bias; details of the experimental apparatus; size of the data set, apparatus, and number of authors; rates of data taking along with analysis and reduction; distinction between ideal and actual experiments; historical accounts of previous experiments; and personal comments and style. From Millikan's tabletop oil-drop experiment to the Compact Muon Solenoid apparatus measuring approximately 4,000 cubic meters (not including accelerators) and employing over 2,000 authors, Franklin's study follows the decade-by-decade evolution of scale and standards in particle physics experimentation. As he shows, where once there were only one or two collaborators, now it literally takes a village. Similar changes are seen in data collection: in 1909 Millikan's data set took 175 oil drops, of which he used 23 to determine the value of e, the charge of the electron; in contrast, the 1988-1992 E791 experiment using the Collider Detector at Fermilab, investigating the hadroproduction of charm quarks, recorded 20 billion events. As we also see, data collection took a quantum leap in the 1950s with the use of computers. Events are now recorded at rates as of a few hundred per second, and analysis rates have progressed similarly. Employing his epistemology of experimentation, Franklin deconstructs each example to view the arguments offered and the correctness of the results. Overall, he finds that despite the metamorphosis of the process, the role of experimentation has remained remarkably consistent through the years: to test theories and provide factual basis for scientific knowledge, to encourage new theories, and to reveal new phenomenon.
Supersymmetry or SUSY, one of the most beautiful recent ideas of physics, predicts sparticles existing as superpartners of particles. This book gives a theoretical and phenomenological account of sparticles. Starting from a basic level, it provides a comprehensive, pedagogical and user-friendly treatment of the subject of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry as well as its observational aspects in high energy physics and cosmology. Part One of the book introduces the requisite formal theory, preceded by a discussion of the naturalness problem. Part Two describes the supersymmetrization of the Standard Model of particle interactions as well as the origin of soft supersymmetry breaking and how it can be mediated from higher energies. Search strategies for sparticles, supersymmetric Higgs bosons, nonminimal scenarios and cosmological implications are some of the other topics covered. Novel features of the book include a dictionary between two-component and four-component spinor notation, a step-by-step derivation of the nonrenormalization theorem, an extended discussion of supersymmetric renormalization group evolution, detailed analyses of minimal and nonminimal models with gravity (including anomaly) mediated and gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking as well as elaborate self-contained presentations of collider signals of sparticles plus supersymmetric Higgs bosons and of supersymmetric cosmology. Appendices list all Feynman rules for the vertices of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
This first open access volume of the handbook series contains articles on the standard model of particle physics, both from the theoretical and experimental perspective. It also covers related topics, such as heavy-ion physics, neutrino physics and searches for new physics beyond the standard model. 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
This volume contains a portion of the presentations given at the session on High Energy Physics and Astro physics of Orbis Scientiae II, held at the Center for Theoretical Studies, University of Miami, from January 20 through January 24, 1975. This, second in the new series of meetings held at the CTS, strove to implement the goals professed in the organization of Orbis Scientiae in 1974, namely to encourage scientists in several disciplines to exchange views, not only with colleagues who share similar research interests, but also to acquaint scientists in other fields with the leading ideas and current results in each area repre sented. Thus, an effort has been made to include papers in each session that discuss fundamental issues in a way which is comprehensible to scientists who are specialists in other areas. Also in keeping with the philosophy of Orbis Scientiae, the major topics each year are to be varied, with the invariant being the inclusion of developments in fundamental physics. The discussions of the current state of the art in high energy physics represented in this volume include new theories and experiments in the field. v PREFACE Special gratitude is due to the following for their contributions as organizers and moderators of the ses sions on high energy physics and astrophysics: Abdus Salam, Jogesh Pati, Karl Strauch, O. W. Greenberg, Sheldon Glashow, George Sudarshan and W. John Cocke. The editors wish to express their appreciation to Mrs. Helga Billings and Mrs.
Written for a two-semester Master's or graduate course, this comprehensive treatise intertwines theory and experiment in an original approach that covers all aspects of modern particle physics. The author uses rigorous step-by-step derivations and provides more than 100 end-of-chapter problems for additional practice to ensure that students will not only understand the material but also be able to apply their knowledge. Featuring up-to-date experimental material, including the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN and of neutrino oscillations, this monumental volume also serves as a one-stop reference for particle physics researchers of all levels and specialties. Richly illustrated with more than 450 figures, the text guides students through all the intricacies of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory in an intuitive manner that few books achieve.
