Download or read book Conceptual Foundations of Modern Particle Physics written by Robert Eugene Marshak and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1993 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For scientific, technological and organizational reasons, the end of World War II (in 1945) saw a rapid acceleration in the tempo of discovery and understanding in nuclear physics, cosmic rays and quantum field theory, which together triggered the birth of modern particle physics. The first fifteen years (1945-60) following the war's end ? the ?Startup Period? in modern particle physics -witnessed a series of major experimental and theoretical developments that began to define the conceptual contours (non-Abelian internal symmetries, Yang-Mills fields, renormalization group, chirality invariance, baryon-lepton symmetry in weak interactions, spontaneous symmetry breaking) of the quantum field theory of three of the basic interactions in nature (electromagnetic, strong and weak). But it took another fifteen years (1960-75) ? the ?Heroic Period? in modern particle physics ? to unravel the physical content and complete the mathematical formulation of the standard gauge theory of the strong and electroweak interactions among the three generations of quarks and leptons. The impressive accomplishments during the ?Heroic Period? were followed by what is called the ?period of consolidation and speculation (1975-1990)?, which includes the experimental consolidation of the standard model (SM) through precision tests, theoretical consolidation of SM through the search for more rigorous mathematical solutions to the Yang-Mills-Higgs equations, and speculative theoretical excursions ?beyond SM?.Within this historical-conceptual framework, the author ? himself a practicing particle theorist for the past fifty years ? attempts to trace the highlights in the conceptual evolution of modern particle physics from its early beginnings until the present time. Apart from the first chapter ? which sketches a broad overview of the entire field ? the remaining nine chapters of the book offer detailed discussions of the major concepts and principles that prevailed and were given wide currency during each of the fifteen-year periods that comprise the history of modern particle physics. Those concepts and principles that contributed only peripherally to the standard model are given less coverage but an attempt is made to inform the reader about such contributions (which may turn out to be significant at a future time) and to suggest references that supply more information. Chapters 2 and 3 of the book cover a range of topics that received dedicated attention during the ?Startup Period? although some of the results were not incorporated into the structure of the standard model. Chapters 4-6 constitute the core of the book and try to recapture much of the conceptual excitement of the ?Heroic Period?, when quantum flavordynamics (QFD) and quantum chromodynamics (QCD) received their definitive formulation. [It should be emphasized that, throughout the book, logical coherence takes precedence over historical chronology (e.g. some of the precision tests of QFD are discussed in Chapter 6)]. Chapter 7 provides a fairly complete discussion of the chiral gauge anomalies in four dimensions with special application to the standard model (although the larger unification models are also considered). The remaining three chapters of the book (Chapters 7-10) cover concepts and principles that originated primarily during the ?Period of Consolidation and Speculation? but, again, this is not a literal statement. Chapters 8 and 9 report on two of the main directions that were pursued to overcome acknowledged deficiencies of the standard model: unification models in Chapter 8 and attempts to account for the existence of precisely three generations of quarks and leptons, primarily by means of preon models, in Chapter 9. The most innovative of the final three chapters of the book is Chapter 10 on topological conservation laws. This last chapter tries to explain the significance of topologically non-trivial solutions in four-dimensional (space-time) particle physics (e.g. 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles, instantons, sphalerons, global SU(2) anomaly, Wess-Zumino term, etc.) and to reflect on some of the problems that have ensued (e.g. the ?strong CP problem? in QCD) from this effort. It turns out that the more felicitous topological applications of field theory are found ? as of now ? in condensed matter physics; these successful physical applications (to polyacetylene, quantized magnetic flux in type-II low temperature superconductivity, etc.) are discussed in Chapter 10, as a good illustration of the conceptual unity of modern physics.

Download or read book Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Physics written by Dipankar Home and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It may tum out that, like certain other phenomena studied by sociologists, bouts of interest in the foundations of quantum mechanics tend to come in 60-year cycles. It is hardly surprising that in the first decade or so of the subject the conceptual puzzles generated by this strange new way of looking at the world should have generated profound interest, not just among professional physicists themselves but also among philosophers and informed laymen; but this intense interest was followed by a fallow period in the forties and fifties when the physics establishment by and large took the view that the only puzzles left were the product either of incompetent application of the formalism or of bad philosophy, and only a few brave individualists like the late David Bohm dared to suggest that maybe there really was something there after all to worry about. As Bell and Nauenberg, surveying the scene in 1966, put it: "The typical physicist feels that [these questions 1 have long ago been answered, and that he will fully understand how if ever he can spare twenty minutes to think about it. " But gradually, through the sixties and seventies, curiosity did revive, and the last ten years or so have seen a level of interest in foundational questions, and an involvement in them by some of the leading figures of contemporary physics, which is probably unparalleled since the earliest days.

Download or read book Modern Elementary Particle Physics written by Gordon Kane and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-08 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is written for students and scientists wanting to learn about the Standard Model of particle physics. Only an introductory course knowledge about quantum theory is needed. The text provides a pedagogical description of the theory, and incorporates the recent Higgs boson and top quark discoveries. With its clear and engaging style, this new edition retains its essential simplicity. Long and detailed calculations are replaced by simple approximate ones. It includes introductions to accelerators, colliders, and detectors, and several main experimental tests of the Standard Model are explained. Descriptions of some well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model prepare the reader for new developments. It emphasizes the concepts of gauge theories and Higgs physics, electroweak unification and symmetry breaking, and how force strengths vary with energy, providing a solid foundation for those working in the field, and for those who simply want to learn about the Standard Model.

Download or read book The Experimental Foundations of Particle Physics written by Robert N. Cahn and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-23 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique presentation of our current understanding of particle physics for researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

Download or read book Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Field Theory written by Tian Yu Cao and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-03-25 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multi-author volume on the history and philosophy of physics.

Download or read book Concepts of Particle Physics written by Kurt Gottfried and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1986-11-13 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume of this authoritative work traces the material outlined in the first, but in far greater detail and with a much higher degree of sophistication. The authors begin with the theory of the electromagnetic interaction, and then consider hadronic structure, exploring the accuracy of the quark model by examining the excited states of baryons and mesons. They introduce the color variable as a prelude to the development of quantum chromodynamics, the theory of the strong interaction, and go on to discuss the electroweak interaction--the broken symmetry of which they explain by the Higgs mechanism--and conclude with a consideration of grand unification theories.

Download or read book Elementary Particles and Their Interactions written by Quang Ho-Kim and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first part of this two-part work is intended as an introduction to the fundamentals, while the second part discusses applications from the point of view of the researcher. Lively illustrations and informative tables, an overview at the beginning of each chapter and exercises with solutions make this book a valuable resource.

Download or read book A Modern Introduction to Particle Physics written by Fayyazuddin and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1992 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of the progress made in particle physics during the last two decades has to led to the formulation of the so called ?Standard Model? of elementary particles and its quantitative experimental test. The book deals with this progress but includes chapters which provide the necessary background material to modern particle physics.Particle physics forms an essential part of physics curriculum. This is a textbook but will also be useful for people working in this field and for nuclear physicists, particularly those who work on topics concerning interface between nuclear and particle physics. The book is designed for a semester course for senior undergraduates and a semester course for graduate students. Formal quantum field theory is not used; a knowledge of non-relativistic quantum mechanics is required for some parts of the book; but for the remaining parts the familiarity with the Dirac equation is essential. However, some of these topics are included in the appendix.

Download or read book Modern Introduction To Particle Physics A 2nd Edition written by Fayyazuddin and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 2000-09-29 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The progress made in particle physics during the last two decades has led to the formulation of the so-called Standard Model of elementary particles and its quantitative experimental test. This book presents that progress, and also includes chapters which provide background on modern particle physics.Particle physics forms an essential part of the physics curriculum. This is a comprehensive book incorporating all the topics for a unified treatment of particle physics. It provides good reference material for researchers in both theoretical and experimental particle physics. It is designed as a semester course for senior undergraduates and for graduate students. Formal quantum field theory is not used. A knowledge of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is required for some parts of the book, but for the remaining parts familiarity with the Dirac equation and Feynman rules is essential. However, some of these topics are included in an appendix.In this second edition, many chapters (e.g. on electroweak unification) have been revised to bring them up to date. In particular, the chapters on neutrino physics, particle mixing and CP violation, and weak decays of heavy flavors have been rewritten incorporating new material and new data. The heavy quark effective theory has been included.

Download or read book Modern Particle Physics written by Mark Thomson and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 825 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Unique in its coverage of all aspects of modern particle physics, this textbook provides a clear connection between the theory and recent experimental results, including the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN. It provides a comprehensive and self-contained description of the Standard Model of particle physics suitable for upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students studying experimental particle physics. Physical theory is introduced in a straightforward manner with full mathematical derivations throughout. Fully-worked examples enable students to link the mathematical theory to results from modern particle physics experiments. End-of-chapter exercises, graded by difficulty, provide students with a deeper understanding of the subject. Online resources available at www.cambridge.org/MPP feature password-protected fully-worked solutions to problems for instructors, numerical solutions and hints to the problems for students and PowerPoint slides and JPEGs of figures from the book"--

Download or read book Quantum Physics An Overview of a Weird World A Primer on the Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Physics written by Marco Masi and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive introduction to the scientific principles of a complex topic in which meaning and interpretation never cease to puzzle and surprise. An A-Z guide which is neither too advanced nor oversimplified and which is complete with figures and graphs that illustrate the deeper meaning of the concepts you are unlikely to find elsewhere. The weirdness and paradoxes of quantum physics are explained at an introductory level, from the first principles to modern state-of-the-art experiments. This is for the non-physicist autodidact who is looking for general knowledge about quantum physics, as it furnishes the most rigorous account that an (almost) non-mathematical exposition can provide. It will save you a ton of time in searching elsewhere, trying to piece together a variety of information. Instead of being 'quantum physics for dummies', this is a deeper account that not only summarizes the experiments but also discusses the philosophical arguments while remaining accessible to all. It's a guide for all those who have always been attracted to the fascinating quantum reality and wanted to understand its principles, even if they are not physicists, but have found only either advanced university-level courses filled with complex mathematics or, alternatively, popular science texts that tried to connect with the reader at the cost of crude oversimplification. Considering how the media (and sometimes also physicists) present quantum theory by focusing only on highly dubious ideas and speculations backed by no evidence (or, worse, promote pseudo-scientific hype that falls into and out of fashion), this book fills a void: that of a serious introduction to the conceptual foundations of quantum physics, as it really is, that is accessible to all and yet does not treat readers like idiots.Moreover, one of the primary motivations of the author was to span an 'arch of knowledge' without giving in to the temptation of taking an excessively one-sided account of the subject. To that end, he has refrained from focusing too much on his personal preferences - something that otherwise would have spoiled the intention of making this a general introduction. It is instead, first and foremost, an effort to provide the reader with the widest possible background on all the basics that everyone interested in quantum physics should have. It is a primer that the public deserves.What is this strange thing called quantum physics? What is its impact on our understanding of the world? What is 'reality' according to quantum physics? This book addresses these and many other questions through a step-by-step journey into this very weird world. The central mystery of the double slit experiment and the wave-particle duality, the fuzzy world of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the weird Schrödinger's cat paradox, the 'spooky action at a distance' of quantum entanglement, the EPR paradox and much more is explained, without neglecting such main contributors as Planck, Einstein, Bohr, Feynman and others who struggled themselves to come up with the mysterious quantum realm. This manual also takes a look at the experiments conducted in recent decades, such as the "which-way", "quantum-erasure" experiments.Additionally, because schools, colleges and universities teach quantum physics using a dry, mostly technical approach which furnishes only superficial insight into its foundations, this book is recommended to all those students and physicists who would like to look beyond the merely formal aspect and delve deeper into the meaning and essence of quantum mechanics.

Download or read book The Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Mechanics written by Jeffrey A. Barrett and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The book starts with a description of classical mechanics then discusses the quantum phenomena that require us to give up our commonsense classical intuitions. We consider the physical and conceptual arguments that led to the standard von Neumann-Dirac formulation of quantum mechanics and how the standard theory explains quantum phenomena. This includes a discussion of how the theory's two dynamical laws work with the standard interpretation of states to explain determinate measurement records, quantum statistics, interference effects, entanglement, decoherence, and quantum nonlocality. A careful understanding of how the standard theory works ultimately leads to the quantum measurement problem. We consider how the measurement problem threatens the logical consistency of the standard theory then turn to a discussion of the main proposals for resolving it. This includes collapse formulations of quantum mechanics like Wigner's extension of the standard theory and the GRW approach and no-collapse formulations like pure wave mechanics, the various many-worlds theories, and Bohmian mechanics. In discussing alternative formulations of quantum mechanics we pay particular attention to the explanatory role played by each theory's empirical ontology and associated metaphysical commitments and the conceptual trade-offs between theoretical options"--

Download or read book Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics written by Martinus J G Veltman and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2018-03-21 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive overview of modern particle physics accessible to anyone with a true passion for wanting to know how the universe works. We are introduced to the known particles of the world we live in. An elegant explanation of quantum mechanics and relativity paves the way for an understanding of the laws that govern particle physics. These laws are put into action in the world of accelerators, colliders and detectors found at institutions such as CERN and Fermilab that are in the forefront of technical innovation. Real world and theory meet using Feynman diagrams to solve the problems of infinities and deduce the need for the Higgs boson. Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics offers an incredible insight from an eyewitness and participant in some of the greatest discoveries in 20th century science. From Einstein's theory of relativity to the spectacular discovery of the Higgs particle, this book will fascinate and educate anyone interested in the world of quarks, leptons and gauge theories. This book also contains many thumbnail sketches of particle physics personalities, including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author. Illustrated with pictures, these candid sketches present rare, perceptive views of the characters that populate the field. The Chapter on Particle Theory, in a pre-publication, was termed "superbly lucid" by David Miller in Nature (Vol. 396, 17 Dec. 1998, p. 642). Contents: IntroductionPreliminariesThe Standard ModelQuantum Mechanics. MixingEnergy, Momentum and Mass-ShellDetectionAccelerators and Storage RingsThe CERN Neutrino ExperimentThe Particle ZooParticle TheoryFinding the HiggsQuantum ChromodynamicsEpilogueAddendum Readership: Students, lay people and anyone interested in the world of elementary particles. Keywords: Particle Physics;Quantum Mechanics;Relativity;Quarks;Leptons;Gauge Theories;Higgs ParticleReview: Reviews of the First Edition: "Veltman's life spans the history of particle physics, from Antiparticles to Z bosons. So does his crystal clear book, which tells all you want to know about the strange sub-nuclear world and the stranger scientists that study it ... a thrilling tale about the world's tiniest things." Sheldon Glashow Nobel laureate Boston University "I must congratulate you! The book you have written is truly a masterpiece. Not only have you explained the physics of the world of elementary particles to the young aspiring student, but you have made it available to the intelligent layman. On top of that you gave it the humanity it deserves; reading this book brought me back to the most exciting period of my life in which every day brought a new discovery and we all fought for recognition. I can truly say that there is no book like this." Melvin Schwartz Nobel laureate Columbia University "Veltman's ... transparent explanations of the abstract theories of quantum mechanics and special relativity, his lucid accounts of esoteric subjects in particle physics, such as scaling, Higgs particle and renormalizability ... are very impressive. The book will interest anyone who is interested in the view of the physical world held by contemporary fundamental physicists."T Y Cao Boston University "I greatly enjoyed finally reading a book that goes into the details I always wanted ... Veltman has the courage to try a deeper level about what we understand and what is simply fact ... Even if you have read books popularizing physics befor

Download or read book Quarks Leptons Gauge Fields written by Kerson Huang and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1992 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is perhaps the most up-to-date book on Modern Elementary Particle Physics. The main content is an introduction to Yang-Mills fields, and the Standard Model of Particle Physics. A concise introduction to quarks is provided, with a discussion of the representations of SU(3).The Standard Model is presented in detail, including such topics as the Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, chiral symmetry breaking, and the ?-vacuum. Theoretical topics of a more general nature include path integrals, topological solitons, renormalization group, effective potentials, the axial anomaly, and lattice gauge theory.This second edition, which has been expanded, incorporates the following new subjects: Wilson's renormalization scheme, and its relation to perturbative renormalization; pitfalls in quantizing gauge fields, such as the Gribov ambiguity; the lattice as a consistent regularization; Monte Carlo methods of solution; and the issues, folklores, and scenarios of quark confinement. More than a quarter of the book comprise of new materials.This book may be used as a text for a one-semester course on advanced quantum field theory, or reference book for particle physicists.

Download or read book Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Physics written by Dipankar Home and published by . This book was released on 2014-01-15 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Conceptual Framework of Quantum Field Theory written by Anthony Duncan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-08-09 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book attempts to provide an introduction to quantum field theory emphasizing conceptual issues frequently neglected in more "utilitarian" treatments of the subject. The book is divided into four parts, entitled respectively "Origins", "Dynamics", "Symmetries", and "Scales". The emphasis is conceptual - the aim is to build the theory up systematically from some clearly stated foundational concepts - and therefore to a large extent anti-historical, but two historical Chapters ("Origins") are included to situate quantum field theory in the larger context of modern physical theories. The three remaining sections of the book follow a step by step reconstruction of this framework beginning with just a few basic assumptions: relativistic invariance, the basic principles of quantum mechanics, and the prohibition of physical action at a distance embodied in the clustering principle. The "Dynamics" section of the book lays out the basic structure of quantum field theory arising from the sequential insertion of quantum-mechanical, relativistic and locality constraints. The central role of symmetries in relativistic quantum field theories is explored in the third section of the book, while in the final section, entitled "Scales", we explore in detail the feature of quantum field theories most critical for their enormous phenomenological success - the scale separation property embodied by the renormalization group properties of a theory defined by an effective local Lagrangian.

Download or read book Particle Physics written by Lev Borisovich Okunʹ and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by one of the world's leading theoretical physicists, this comprehensive volume offers a thorough overview of elementary particle physics and discusses progress in the field over the past two decades. The book forges links between new theoretical concepts and long-established facts in a style that both experts and students will find readable, informative, and challenging. A special section explains the use of relativistic quantum units, enabling readers to carry out back-of-the-envelope dimensional estimates. This ambitious book opens the door to a host of intriguing possibilities in the field of high-energy physics.