Bundles, connections, metrics and curvature are the 'lingua franca' of modern differential geometry and theoretical physics. This book will supply a graduate student in mathematics or theoretical physics with the fundamentals of these objects.
Many of the tools used in differential topology are introduced and the basic results about differentiable manifolds, smooth maps, differential forms, vector fields, Lie groups, and Grassmanians are all presented here. Other material covered includes the basic theorems about geodesics and Jacobi fields, the classification theorem for flat connections, the definition of characteristic classes, and also an introduction to complex and Kahler geometry.
Differential Geometry uses many of the classical examples from, and applications of, the subjects it covers, in particular those where closed form expressions are available, to bring abstract ideas to life. Helpfully, proofs are offered for almost all assertions throughout. All of the introductory material is presented in full and this is the only such source with the classical examples presented in detail.

Semiconductor sensors patterned at the micron scale combined with custom-designed integrated circuits have revolutionized semiconductor radiation detector systems. Designs covering many square meters with million of signal channels are now commonplace in high-energy physics and the technology is finding its way into many other fields, ranging from astrophysics to experiments at synchrotron light sources and medical imaging. This book is the first to present a comprehensive discussion of the many facets of highly integrated semiconductor detectors systems, covering sensors, signal processing, transistors, and circuits, low-noise electronics, and radiation effects. The diversity of design approaches is illustrated in a chapter describing systems in high-energy physics, astronomy, and astrophysics. Finally, a chapter "Why Things Don't Work" discusses common pitfalls. Profusely illustrated, this book includes comprehensive discussions of sensors, signal processing, and electronics. Including fine tutorial material, it provides a unique reference in a key area of modern science.

Physics was the leading science of the twentieth century and the book retraces important discoveries, made between 1895 and 2001, in 100 self-contained Episodes. Each is a short story of the scientists involved, their time and their work. Together, they formed a mosaic of modern physics: formulating relativity and quantum mechanics, finding the constituents of matter and unravelling the forces between them, understanding the working of conductors and semiconductors, discovering and explaining macroscopic quantum effects (superconductivity, superfluidity, quantum Hall effect), developing novel experimental techniques like the Geiger counter and particle accelerators, building revolutionary applications like the transistor and the laser, and observing astonishing features of our cosmos (expanding universe, cosmic background radiation). The text is intended for easy reading. Occasionally, a more thorough discussion of experimental set-ups and theoretical concepts is presented in special boxes for readers interested in more detail. Episodes contain extensive references to biographies and original scientific literature. The book is richly illustrated by about 600 portraits, photographs and figures.

The importance and the beauty of modern quantum field theory resides in the power and variety of its methods and ideas, which find application in domains as different as particle physics, cosmology, condensed matter, statistical mechanics and critical phenomena. This book introduces the reader to the modern developments in a manner which assumes no previous knowledge of quantum field theory. Along with standard topics like Feynman diagrams, the book discusses effective lagrangians, renormalization group equations, the path integral formulation, spontaneous symmetry breaking and non-abelian gauge theories. The inclusion of more advanced topics will also make this a most useful book for graduate students and researchers.

Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions and New Energy is a summary of selected experimental and theoretical research performed over the last 19 years that gives profound and unambiguous evidence for low energy nuclear reaction (LENR), historically known as cold fusion.
In 1989, the subject was announced with great fanfare, to the chagrin of many people in the science community. However, the significant claim of its discoverers, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, excess heat without harmful neutron emissions or strong gamma radiation, involving electrochemical cells using heavy water and palladium, has held strong.
In recent years, LENR, within the field of condensed matter nuclear science, has begun to attract widespread attention and is regarded as a potential alternative and renewable energy source to confront climate change and energy scarcity. The aim of the research is to collect experimental findings for LENR in order to present reasonable explanations and a conclusive theoretical and practical working model.
The goal of the field is directed toward the fabrication of LENR devices with unique commercial potential demonstrating an alternative energy source that does not produce greenhouse gases, long-lived radiation or strong prompt radiation. The idea of LENR has led to endless discussions about the kinetic impossibility of intense nuclear reactions with high coulomb barrier potential. However, recent theoretical work may soon shed light on this mystery.
Understanding this process is one of the most challenging and perhaps important issues in the scientific world. This book includes previously unpublished studies, new and controversial theories to approach LENR with access to new sources and experimental results. The book offers insight into this controversial subject and will help readers re-evaluate their perspective on LENR as a possible alternative energy source.

This book is on inertial confinement fusion, an alternative way to produce electrical power from hydrogen fuel by using powerful lasers or particle beams. Two huge laser facilities are presently under construction to show that this method works. It involves the compression of tiny amounts (micrograms) of fuel to thousand times solid density and pressures otherwise existing only in the centre of stars. Thanks to advances in laser technology, it is now possible to produce such extreme states of matter in the laboratory. Recent developments have boosted laser intensities again with new possibilities for laser particle accelerators, laser nuclear physics, and fast ignition of fusion targets. This is a reference book for those working on beam plasma physics, be it in the context of fundamental research or applications to fusion energy or novel ultra-bright laser sources. The book combines quite different areas of physics: beam target interaction, dense plasmas, hydrodynamic implosion and instabilities, radiative energy transfer as well as fusion reactions. Particular attention is given to simple and useful modeling, including dimensional analysis and similarity solutions. Both authors have worked in this field for more than 20 years. They want to address in particular those teaching this topic to students and all those interested in understanding the technical basis.

This textbook describes the physics of semiconductor nanostructures with emphasis on their electronic transport properties. At its heart are five fundamental transport phenomena: quantized conductance, tunnelling transport, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, the quantum Hall effect, and the Coulomb blockade effect.
The book starts out with the basics of solid state and semiconductor physics, such as crystal structure, band structure, and effective mass approximation, including spin-orbit interaction effects important for research in semiconductor spintronics. It contains material aspects such as band engineering, doping, gating, and a selection of nanostructure fabrication techniques. The book discusses the Drude-Boltzmann-Sommerfeld transport theory as well as conductance quantization and the Landauer-Buttiker theory. These concepts are extended to mesoscopic interference phenomena and decoherence, magnetotransport, and interaction effects in quantum-confined systems, guiding the reader from fundamental effects to specialized state-of-the-art experiments.
The book will provide a thorough introduction into the topic for graduate and PhD students, and will be a useful reference for lecturers and researchers working in the field.

Science is at a cross-roads. For several decades, the Standard Model of particle physics has managed to fit vast amounts of particle scattering data remarkably well, but many questions remain. During those decades, some sophisticated theoretical hypotheses such as string theory, quantum gravity, and quantum cosmology have been proposed and studied intensively, in an effort to break the log-jam of the Standard Model. None of those hypotheses have succeeded to date. Of greater concern is the increasing tendency by some practitioners in those fields to downplay the empirical principles of science.In response, this book is a restatement of those principles, covering numerous aspects of observation. A particular focus is on contextuality versus realism, the two fundamentally contrasting ideologies that underpin modern physics.

Muography is a term recently introduced to embrace different techniques that profit from the penetration capability of the muon component of cosmic rays to investigate the interior of large and otherwise inaccessible structures. Primary cosmic rays — high energy particles originating outside the solar system — interact with the Earth atmosphere and generate muons, particles with the same electric charge as the electron, while their mass is 200 times heavier. At the Earth's surface, cosmic muons represent the most abundant component of cosmic rays, and favourably, they can feature energies sufficiently high to penetrate even thick and dense materials, giving the opportunity of unveiling the internal structure of large volumes.Muography was made possible by the development of detectors in the field of particle physics, allowing the exploitation of this natural source for imaging in a vast variety of fields, characterizing this technique as truly interdisciplinary, and leading to significant advances in several disciplines. This book tries to cover all aspects of this methodology, with the different chapters pointing to the general physics principles, to the technological and image reconstruction challenges and to the principal applications in several fields, such as archaeology and geology but also civil and industrial applications.The volume contributors had omitted unnecessary technical details, while focusing on the main features and methodologies. Hence, the book not only targets scientists working in the field but also non-specialists, who might enjoy the reading as a tutorial.

This book is written for students who ever wondered about the mysterious and fascinating world of particle accelerators. What exciting physics and technologies lie within? What clever and ingenious ideas were applied in their seven decades of evolution? What promises still lay ahead in the future?Accelerators have been driving research and industrial advances for decades. This textbook illustrates the physical principles behind these incredible machines, often with intuitive pictures and simple mathematical models. Pure formalisms are avoided as much as possible. It is hoped that the readers would enjoy the fascinating physics behind these state-of-the-art devices.The style is informal and aimed for a graduate level without prerequisite of prior knowledge in accelerators. To serve as a textbook, references are listed only on the more established original literature and review articles instead of the constantly changing research frontiers.

Some twenty years ago the author published a book entitled The Physics of Particle Detectors. Much has evolved since that time, not in the basic physics, but in the complexity, number and versatility of the detectors commonly used in experiments, beam-lines and accelerators. Those changes have been heavily influenced by the concurrent dramatic changes in the microelectronics industry. In parallel, the use of computer-aided teaching has also greatly improved. The present volume explores the physics needed to understand the full suite of front-end devices in use today. In particular the physics explanation is made concurrently with the specific device being discussed, thus making the coupling more immediate. That study is made more interactive by using newer educational tools now available such as dynamic Matlab Apps.

A P Balachandran has a long and impressive record of research in particle physics and quantum field theory, bringing concepts of geometry, topology and operator algebras to the analysis of physical problems, particularly in particle physics and condensed matter physics. He has also had an influential role within the physics community, not only in terms of a large number of students, research associates and collaborators, but also serving on the editorial boards of important publications, including the International Journal of Modern Physics A.This book consists of articles by students and associates of Balachandran. Most of the articles are scientific in nature, with topics ranging from noncommutative geometry, particle physics phenomenology, to condensed matter physics. Various chapters focus on new perspectives and directions resulting from Balachandran's contributions to physics, as well as some reminiscences of collaborating and working with Balachandran.

This book provides a brief exposition of the principles of beam physics and particle accelerators with an emphasis on numerical examples employing readily available computer tools. However, it avoids detailed derivations, instead inviting the reader to use general high-end languages such as Mathcad and Matlab, as well as specialized particle accelerator codes (e.g. MAD, WinAgile, Elegant, and others) to explore the principles presented. This approach allows readers to readily identify relevant design parameters and their scaling. In addition, the computer input files can serve as templates that can be easily adapted to other related situations. The examples and computer exercises comprise basic lenses and deflectors, fringe fields, lattice and beam functions, synchrotron radiation, beam envelope matching, betatron resonances, and transverse and longitudinal emittance and space charge. The last chapter presents examples of two major types of particle accelerators: radio frequency linear accelerators (RF linacs) and storage rings. Lastly, the appendix gives readers a brief description of the computer tools employed and concise instructions for their installation and use in the most popular computer platforms (Windows, Macintosh and Ubuntu Linux). Hyperlinks to websites containing all relevant files are also included. An essential component of the book is its website (actually part of the author's website at the University of Maryland), which contains the files that reproduce results given in the text as well as additional material such as technical notes and movies.

This book provides a concise introduction to both the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity. The format is chosen to provide the basis for a single semester course which can take the students all the way from the foundations of special relativity to the core results of general relativity: the Einstein equation and the equations of motion for particles and light in curved spacetime. To facilitate access to the topics of special and general relativity for science and engineering students without prior training in relativity or geometry, the relevant geometric notions are also introduced and developed from the ground up. Students in physics, mathematics or engineering with an interest to learn Einstein's theories of relativity should be able to use this book already in the second semester of their third year. The book could also be used as the basis of a graduate level introduction to relativity for students who did not learn relativity as part of their undergraduate training.

Skyrmions - A Theory of Nuclei surveys 60 years of research into the brilliant and imaginative idea of Tony Skyrme that atomic nuclei can be modelled as Skyrmions, topologically stable states in an effective quantum field theory of pions. Skyrme theory emerges as a low-energy approximation to the more fundamental theory of quarks and gluons - quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Skyrmions give spatial structure to the protons and neutrons inside nuclei, and capture the interactions of these basic particles, allowing them to partially merge. Skyrme theory also gives a topological explanation for the conservation of baryon number, a fundamental principle of physics.The book summarises the particle and field theory background, then presents Skyrme field theory together with the mathematics needed to understand it. Many beautiful and surprisingly symmetric Skyrmions are described and illustrated in colour. Quantized Skyrmion motion models the momentum, energy and spin of nuclei, and also their isospin, the quantum number distinguishing protons and neutrons. Skyrmion vibrations also need to be quantized, and the book reviews how the complicated energy spectra of several nuclei, including Carbon-12 and Oxygen-16, are accurately modelled by rotational/vibrational states of Skyrmions. A later chapter explores variants of Skyrme theory, incorporating mesons heavier than pions, and extending the basic theory to include particles like kaons that contain strange quarks. The final chapter introduces the Sakai-Sugimoto model, which relates Skyrmions to gauge theory instantons in a higher-dimensional framework inspired by string theory.

The growing number of scientific and technological applications of plasma physics in the field of Aerospace Engineering requires that graduate students and professionals understand their principles. This introductory book is the expanded version of class notes of lectures I taught for several years to students of Aerospace Engineering and Physics. It is intended as a reading guide, addressed to students and non-specialists to tackle later with more advanced texts. To make the subject more accessible the book does not follow the usual organization of standard textbooks in this field and is divided in two parts. The first introduces the basic kinetic theory (molecular collisions, mean free path, etc.) of neutral gases in equilibrium in connection to the undergraduate physics courses. The basic properties of ionized gases and plasmas (Debye length, plasma frequencies, etc.) are addressed in relation to their equilibrium states and the collisional processes at the microscopic level. The physical description of short and long-range (Coulomb) collisions and the more relevant collisions (elementary processes) between electrons' ions and neutral atoms or molecules are discussed. The second part introduces the physical description of plasmas as a statistical system of interacting particles introducing advanced concepts of kinetic theory, (non-equilibrium distribution functions, Boltzmann collision operator, etc). The fluid transport equations for plasmas of electron ions and neutral atoms and the hydrodynamic models of interest in space science and plasma technology are derived. The plasma production in the laboratory in the context of the physics of electric breakdown is also discussed. Finally, among the myriad of aerospace applications of plasma physics, the low pressure microwave electron multipactor breakdown and plasma thrusters for space propulsion are presented in two separate chapters.

This book covers introductory subjects including fundamental principles of nuclear reactions with neutrons, fundamentals of nuclear fission chain reactions, basic concepts of criticality, and static characteristics based on diffusion approximation in neutron transport. The chapters address topics ranging from neutron moderation from fission to thermal energy ranges and heterogeneity effects in neutronics. Readers will find elementary and qualitative descriptions and also mathematical expressions including approximations, derivations and analytical solutions for an understanding of the basic principles of nuclear reactor physics. This book is part of a series entitled An Advanced Course in Nuclear Engineering and provides an accessible introduction to the core discipline of nuclear engineering: nuclear reactor physics. It will therefore appeal to engineers in nuclear engineering as well as to university students and others seeking to learn entry-level reactor physics.

In addition to expanding and clarifying a number of sections of the first edition, it generalizes the analysis that eliminates the noncausal pre-acceleration so that it applies to removing any pre-deceleration as well. It also introduces a robust power series solution to the equation of motion that produces an extremely accurate solution to problems such as the motion of electrons in uniform magnetic fields.

This hands-on textbook introduces physics and nuclear engineering students to the experimental and theoretical aspects of fission physics for research and applications through worked examples and problem sets. The study of nuclear fission is currently undergoing a renaissance. Recent advances in the field create the opportunity to develop more reliable models of fission predictability and to supply measurements and data to critical applications including nuclear energy, national security and counter-proliferation, and medical isotope production. An Introduction to Nuclear Fission provides foundational knowledge for the next generation of researchers to contribute to nuclear fission physics.

The first version of quantum theory, developed in the mid 1920's, is what is called nonrelativistic quantum theory; it is based on a form of relativity which, in a previous volume, was called Newton relativity. But quickly after this first development, it was realized that, in order to account for high energy phenomena such as particle creation, it was necessary to develop a quantum theory based on Einstein relativity. This in turn led to the development of relativistic quantum field theory, which is an intrinsically many-body theory. But this is not the only possibility for a relativistic quantum theory. In this book we take the point of view of a particle theory, based on the irreducible representations of the Poincare group, the group that expresses the symmetry of Einstein relativity. There are several ways of formulating such a theory; we develop what is called relativistic point form quantum mechanics, which, unlike quantum field theory, deals with a fixed number of particles in a relativistically invariant way. A central issue in any relativistic quantum theory is how to introduce interactions without spoiling relativistic invariance. We show that interactions can be incorporated in a mass operator, in such a way that relativistic invariance is maintained. Surprisingly for a relativistic theory, such a construction allows for instantaneous interactions; in addition, dynamical particle exchange and particle production can be included in a multichannel formulation of the mass operator. For systems of more than two particles, however, straightforward application of such a construction leads to the undesirable property that clusters of widely separated particles continue to interact with one another, even if the interactions between the individual particles are of short range. A significant part of this volume deals with the solution of this problem. Since relativistic quantum mechanics is not as well-known as relativistic quantum field theory, a chapter is devoted to applications of point form quantum mechanics to nuclear physics; in particular we show how constituent quark models can be used to derive electromagnetic and other properties of hadrons.

Our understanding of subatomic particles developed over many years, although a clear picture of the different particles, their interactions and their inter-relationships only emerged in the latter part of the twentieth century. The first ""subatomic particles"" to be investigated were those which exhibit readily observable macroscopic behavior, specifically these are the photon, which we observe as light and the electron, which is manifested as electricity. The true nature of these particles, however, only became clear within the last century or so. The development of the Standard Model provided clarification of the way in which various particles, specifically the hadrons, relate to one another and the way in which their properties are determined by their structure. The final piece, perhaps, of the final model, that is the means by which some particles acquire mass, has just recently been clarified with the observation of the Higgs boson. Since the 1970s it has been known that the measured solar neutrino flux was inconsistent with the flux predicted by solar models. The existence of neutrinos with mass would allow for neutrino flavor oscillations and would provide an explanation for this discrepancy. Only in the past few years, has there been clear experimental evidence that neutrinos have mass. The description of particle structure on the basis of the Standard Model, along with recent discoveries concerning neutrino properties, provides us with a comprehensive picture of the properties of subatomic particles. Part I of the present book provides an overview of the Standard Model of particle physics including an overview of the discovery and properties of the Higgs boson. Part II of the book summarizes the important investigations into the physics of neutrinos and provides an overview of the interpretation of these studies.

This textbook is a unique and ambitious primer of nuclear physics, which introduces recent theoretical and experimental progresses starting from basics in fundamental quantum mechanics. The highlight is to offer an overview of nuclear structure phenomena relevant to recent key findings such as unstable halo nuclei, superheavy elements, neutron stars, nucleosynthesis, the standard model, lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD), and chiral effective theory. An additional attraction is that general properties of nuclei are comprehensively explained from both the theoretical and experimental viewpoints. The book begins with the conceptual and mathematical basics of quantum mechanics, and goes into the main point of nuclear physics - nuclear structure, radioactive ion beam physics, and nuclear reactions. The last chapters devote interdisciplinary topics in association with astrophysics and particle physics. A number of illustrations and exercises with complete solutions are given. Each chapter is comprehensively written starting from fundamentals to gradually reach modern aspects of nuclear physics with the objective to provide an effective description of the cutting edge in the field.

In this thesis, the first measurement of the running of the top quark mass is presented. This is a fundamental quantum effect that had never been studied before. Any deviation from the expected behaviour can be interpreted as a hint of the presence of physics beyond the Standard Model. All relevant aspects of the analysis are extensively described and documented. This thesis also describes a simultaneous measurement of the inclusive top quark-antiquark production cross section and the top quark mass in the simulation. The measured cross section is also used to precisely determine the values of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant by comparing to state-of-the-art theoretical predictions. All the theoretical and experimental aspects relevant to the results presented in this thesis are discussed in the initial chapters in a concise but complete way, which makes the material accessible to a wider audience.

This book introduces the physics and chemistry of plastic scintillators (fluorescent polymers) that are able to emit light when exposed to ionizing radiation, discussing their chemical modification in the early 1950s and 1960s, as well as the renewed upsurge in interest in the 21st century. The book presents contributions from various researchers on broad aspects of plastic scintillators, from physics, chemistry, materials science and applications, covering topics such as the chemical nature of the polymer and/or the fluorophores, modification of the photophysical properties (decay time, emission wavelength) and loading of additives to make the material more sensitive to, e.g., fast neutrons, thermal neutrons or gamma rays. It also describes the benefits of recent technological advances for plastic scintillators, such as nanomaterials and quantum dots, which allow features that were previously not achievable with regular organic molecules or organometallics.