Particle Physics (Manchester Physics Series)

Covers all the basic concepts likely to be taught in a general course in particle physics for undergraduate students. Provides a concise and lucid account of the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions with emphasis on the interpretation of experimental observations in the light of general theoretical ideas. A set of instructive problems is given at the end of each chapter and hints for their solution along with helpful appendices are also provided.

Particle Physics is the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces between them.

Particle Physics, Third Edition, provides a short introduction to particle physics, which emphasizes the foundations of the standard model in experimental data, rather than its more formal and theoretical aspects. It is intended for undergraduate students who have previously taken introductory courses in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and special relativity.

The structure of the book is simple. The first three chapters give a brief overview of the subject. They introduce some of the basic ideas that are used extensively throughout the rest of the book and discuss leptons, quarks and hadrons and the interactions between them. The remaining chapters discuss a wide selection of important topics in more detail. These include experimental methods; space-time symmetries; the quark model of hadrons; quantum chromodynamics and jet physics; the weak interaction, including its unification with the electromagnetic interaction, and CP-violation and related symmetries; and a brief account of some of the important open questions ‘beyond the standard model’ that are currently being investigated in laboratories around the world. Problems to aid student study are given at the end of each chapter, with solutions given in an Appendix.

Particle Physics 3rd Edition features:

• Expanded coverage of neutrino physics, including recent experimental result on neutrino mixing and neutrino masses
• A revised and updated discussion of modern particle detectors and experiments
• A fuller treatment of the Higgs mechanism and experimental searches for the Higgs boson
• A more extensive discussion of CP violation, including new results B decays their implications for the standard model
• An updated treatment of physics beyond the standard model, including the expanding field of particle astrophysics and cosmology