Quarks, Leptons, and Beyond


Book Description

The ASI Quarks, Leptons and Beyond, held in Munich from the 5th to the 16th of September 1983 was dedicated to the study of what we now believe are the fundamental building blocks of nature: quarks and leptons. The subject was approached on two levels. On the one hand, a thorough discussion was given of the status of our knowledge of quarks and leptons and their interactions, both from an experi mental and a theoretical standpoint. On the other hand, open problems presented by the so called standard model of quark and lepton interact ions were explored along various ways that lead one beyond this frame work. One of the principal predictions of the standard model is that weak interactions are mediated by heavy Wand Z vector bosons. These particles were discovered in 1983 at CERN and their relevant proper ties were discussed at the ASI by C. Rubbia. Further theoretical predictions concerning these Z and W bosons, yet to be checked by future experimentation, were discussed by G. Altarelli with a view of seeing where the standard model might fail and new physics ensue. The strong interactions of quarks, based on Quantum Chromodynamics (QeD), are presumed to cause the quarks to bind into hadrons. Pro gress in attempts to calculate the observed hadronic spectrum, ab initio, starting from QCD and employing lattice methods were reviewed at the ASI by P. Hasenfratz.




Physics Beyond the Standard Models of Particles, Cosmology and Astrophysics


Book Description

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.




The Handy Physics Answer Book


Book Description

Eschewing the usual mathematical explanations for physics phenomena, this approachable reference explains complicated scientific concepts in plain English that everyone can understand. Tackling the big issues such as gravity, magnetism, sound, and what really happens in the Large Hadron Collider, this engaging look at physics also spells out why cats always land on their feet, why people appear to have red eyes in photographs, and the real danger of looking at an eclipse. For everyone who ever wondered how a light bulb works or how squirrels avoid electrocution on the power lines, this handbook supplies answers on the physics of everyday life and examines the developments in the exploration of subatomic particles. In addition to the question-and-answer section, an addendum of facts about physicists explains what the Nobel prize is and who has won it, and tells the story of the scientist who was incarcerated for agreeing with Copernicus. Answers more than eight hundred questions about physics, ranging from everyday life applications to the latest explorations in the field.







Beyond the Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics


Book Description

A unique and comprehensive presentation on modern particle physics which stores the background knowledge on the big open questions beyond the standard model, as the existence of the Higgs-boson, or the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.




Supersymmetry Beyond Minimality


Book Description

Supersymmetry (SUSY) is one of the most important ideas ever conceived in particle physics. It is a symmetry that relates known elementary particles of a certain spin to as yet undiscovered particles that differ by half a unit of that spin (known as Superparticles). Supersymmetric models now stand as the most promising candidates for a unified theory beyond the Standard Model (SM). SUSY is an elegant and simple theory, but its existence lacks direct proof. Instead of dismissing supersymmetry altogether, Supersymmetry Beyond Minimality: from Theory to Experiment suggests that SUSY may exist in more complex and subtle manifestation than the minimal model. The book explores in detail non-minimal SUSY models, in a bottom-up approach that interconnects experimental phenomena in the fermionic and bosonic sectors. The book considers with equal emphasis the Higgs and Superparticle sectors, and explains both collider and non-collider experiments. Uniquely, the book explores charge/parity and lepton flavour violation. Supersymmetry Beyond Minimality: from Theory to Experiment provides an introduction to well-motivated examples of such non-minimal SUSY models, including the ingredients for generating neutrino masses and/or relaxing the tension with the heavily constraining Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data. Examples of these scenarios are explored in depth, in particular the discussions on Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric SM (NMSSM) and B-L Supersymmetric SM (BLSSM).




Search for New Physics in tt ̅ Final States with Additional Heavy-Flavor Jets with the ATLAS Detector


Book Description

This doctoral thesis focuses on the search for new phenomena in top-antitop quark (tt) final states with additional b-quark jets at the LHC. It uses the full Run 1 dataset collected by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV. The final state of interest consists of an isolated lepton, a neutrino and at least six jets with at least four b-tagged jets, a challenging experimental signature owing to the large background from tt+heavy-flavor production. This final state is characteristic of ttH production, with the Higgs boson decaying into bb, a process that allows direct probing of the top-Higgs Yukawa coupling. This signature is also present in many extensions of the Standard Model that have been proposed as solutions to the hierarchy problem, such as supersymmetry or composite Higgs models, which predict the pair production of bosonic or fermionic top quark partners, or the anomalous production of four-top-quark events. All these physics processes have been searched for using an ambitious search strategy that has been developed on the basis of a combination of state-of-art theoretical predictions and a sophisticated statistical analysis to constrain in-situ the large background uncertainties. As a result, the most restrictive bounds to date on the above physics processes have been obtained.




Beyond Einstein


Book Description

What is superstring theory and why is it important? Can superstrings offer the fulfilment of Einstein's lifelong dream of a Theory of Everything? Co-authored by one of the leading pioneers in superstrings, this book approaches these scientific questions, looking at the scientific research.




Quarks, Leptons & Gauge Fields


Book Description

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.




The Physics of the Standard Model and Beyond


Book Description

This book provides a unified description of elementary particle interactions and the underlying theories, namely the Standard Model and beyond. The authors have aimed at a concise presentation but have taken care that all the basic concepts are clearly described. Written primarily for graduate students in theoretical and experimental particle physics, The Physics of the Standard Model and Beyond conveys the excitement of particle physics, centering upon experimental observations (new and old) and a variety of ideas for their interpretation. Contents: Weak Interaction; Symmetries and the Gauge Theories; The Standard Model of Electroweak Interactions; Quantum Chromodynamics; Neutrino Masses and Neutrino Oscillations; Supersymmetry; Precision Test of Electroweak Radiative Corrections and New Physics; Flavor Physics and CP Violation; Appendices: Notation and Useful Relations; Cross Sections and Feynman Rule; Basics of the Group Theory; C, P and T Transformation; The Quark Model. Readership: Graduate students, experimentalists and theorists in high energy physics.