Exploring Fundamental Particles

The 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).
The Foundation for New Discoveries

A clear picture of the historic breakthroughs and latest findings in the particle physics community, this book guides you through the theories and experiments surrounding fundamental particles and the main forces between them. It sets the stage for the next transformation in modern science.

Lincoln Wolfenstein is professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University. He has made landmark contributions to the particle physics community, including his prediction and study of the influence of matter on neutrino oscillations, now known as the Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein effect. Dr. Wolfenstein has been a recipient of the J.J. Sakurai Prize of the American Physical Society and the Bruno Pontecorvo Prize of the Scientific Council of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia).
João P. Silva is a faculty member at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa and works at the Centro de Física Teórica de Partículas. Dr. Silva was a Fulbright Scholar at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He also co-authored a research textbook on CP violation.

GENESIS OF THE STANDARD MODELThe Foundation of Modern Physics: The Legacy of NewtonSimple Quantitative Laws Fundamental InteractionsFields Cosmological Principles Was Newton Wrong? The Relation of New Theories to Old The Role of Probability

Waves That Are Particles; Particles That Are WavesParticles versus Waves What Is Light? Light Is a Wave The Birth of Special Relativity What Is Light? Light Is a Particle De Broglie and Schrödinger: The Electron as a Wave

Particles That SpinAngular Momentum and Spin Helicity The Dirac Electron Polarization and the Photon Spin

Understanding Quantum Electrodynamics: Feynman to the RescueQuantum Field Theory and Feynman Diagrams Gregarious Particles and Lonesome Particles: Spin and Statistics

The Birth of Particle Physics: Pauli’s Neutrino, Fermi’s Weak Interaction, and Yukawa’s PionElectron, Proton, and Neutron Beta Decay and Pauli’s Neutrino Fermi’s Weak Interaction Nuclear Forces and Yukawa’s PionThe Muon: Who Ordered That? The Muon Neutrino: A New Kind of Nothing Strange Particles

Learning to Live with Gell-Mann’s QuarksOrigin of the Quark Theory A Weekend in November: The Discovery of Charm Another Version of the RutherfordScattering Experiment Quantum Chromodynamics Jets

Beautiful Symmetries Found and LostDiscrete and Continuous Symmetries Mirror Symmetry: P for Parity Madame Wu’s Amazing Discovery C for Charge Conjugation CP Symmetry T for Time Reversal

Emergence of the Standard ModelWeinberg: A Model of Leptons The Experimental Triumph of the Standard Model

Flavor PhysicsStandard Model with Two Families Standard Model with Three Families The Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa Matrix Yukawa Couplings, Masses, and Mixing

Our Current View of Nature’s Building Blocks: (What We Have Learned So Far)The Four Interactions of Nature The Fundamental Building Blocks of Matter Interactions Are Mediated by Particles The Standard Model and Large Laboratories

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 MesonsCP Violation at the B Factories CP Violation in the Bs System

Checking the Standard Model: The Rho-Eta Plane

CP Violation: Where Do We Go from Here?Further Constraints on the Rho-Eta Plane Quantities That Are Small in the Standard Model

THE AMAZING STORY OF THE NEUTRINOThe Mystery of the Missing Neutrinos: Neutrino Oscillations

Neutrinos from the Sun

Neutrino Astronomy: A New Way to Study the UniverseNeutrinos from Stars Neutrinos from the Early Universe: Neutrinos as Dark Matter

Neutrino Mass and Physics beyond the Standard Model

CP Violation in Neutrino Mixing?Experimental Search Leptogenesis

THE HUNT FOR THE MYSTERIOUS HIGGSWhy We Believe in the HiggsThe Standard Model Needs the Higgs Mechanism Theoretical Calculations Need the Higgs Particle

What We Know from Experiment So FarIndirect Experimental Evidence for the Higgs Boson: The Importance of Virtual EffectsDetecting the Higgs Boson Directly Direct Higgs Searches at LEP Direct Higgs Searches at the Tevatron
What We Hope to Learn from the LHCWhat Is the LHC? Higgs Searches at LHC Disaster? If the LHC Cannot Find the Higgs BosonIf the LHC Discovers the Higgs Boson, Is That the End of the Story?
Possibilities for the FutureMulti-Higgs Models The Need for Further Tests and the Importance of ILC
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Important Twenty-First Century ExperimentsAppendix 2: Renormalization, Running Coupling Constants, and Grand Unified TheoriesAppendix 3: Complex Numbers, Complex Fields, and Gauge InvarianceAppendix 4: Unitary MatricesAppendix 5: Energy and Momentum in Special Relativity and the Uncertainty Principle