Wolfenstein L., Silva J.P. Exploring Fundamental Particles

Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, 2011, 263 pages, ISBN10: 1439836124The search for the elementary constituents of the physical universe and the interactions between them has transformed over time and continues to evolve today, as we seek answers to questions about the existence of stars, galaxies, and humankind.
Integrating both theoretical and experimental work, Exploring Fundamental Particles traces the development of this fascinating field, from the discoveries of Newton, Fermi, and Feynman to the detection of CP violation and neutrinos to the quest to observe the Higgs boson and beyond.An Accessible yet In-Depth Account of How Fundamental Particles Shape Our World
The book first examines the experiments and theoretical ideas that gave rise to the standard model. It discusses special relativity, angular momentum, spin, the Dirac electron, quantum field theory, Feynman diagrams, Pauli’s neutrino, Fermi’s weak interaction, Yukawa’s pion, the muon neutrino, quarks, leptons, and flavor symmetry.The authors then explain the violation of the symmetry between matter and antimatter, known as CP violation. They cover the discoveries of CP violation in the decays of kaons and B mesons as well as future experiments that could detect possible CP violation beyond the standard model.
In the next part, the authors present experimental results involving the once-mysterious neutrino. They explore the evidence that neutrinos have mass, new neutrino experiments in various countries, and the potential of neutrino astronomy to offer a new perspective on stars and galaxies.The final section focuses on the one undetected particle of the standard model: the Higgs boson. The authors review the experiments that established important constraints on the mass of the Higgs particle. They also highlight recent experiments of the Tevatron particle accelerator at Fermilab, along with the near future impact of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and the longer term impact of the International Linear Collider (ILC).Genesis of the Standard Model
The Foundation of Modern Physics: The Legacy of Newton
Waves That Are Particles; Particles That Are Waves
Particles That Spin
Understanding Quantum Electrodynamics: Feynman to the Rescue
The Birth of Particle Physics: Pauli’s Neutrino, Fermi’s Weak Interaction, and Yukawa’s Pion
Learning to Live with Gell-Mann’s Quarks
Beautiful Symmetries Found and Lost
Emergence of the Standard Model
Flavor Physics
Our Current View of Nature’s Building Blocks (What We Have Learned So Far)CP Violation: The Asymmetry between Matter and Antimatter
CP Violation in Kaon Decays
The Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa Matrix: CP Violation in the Standard Model
CP Violation with B Mesons
Checking the Standard Model:
The Rho-Eta Plane
CP Violation: Where Do We Go from Here?The Amazing Story of the Neutrino
The Mystery of the Missing Neutrinos: Neutrino Oscillations
Neutrinos from the Sun
Neutrino Astronomy: A New Way to Study the Universe
Neutrino Mass and Physics beyond the Standard Model
CP Violation in Neutrino Mixing?The Hunt for the Mysterious Higgs
Why We Believe in the Higgs
What We Know from Experiment So Far
What We Hope to Learn from the LHC
Possibilities for the Future