This book covers recent developments in the covariant formulation of quantum gravity. Developed in the 1960s by Feynman and DeWitt, by the 1980s this approach seemed to lead nowhere due to perturbative non-renormalizability. The possibility of non-perturbative renormalizability or 'asymptotic safety', originally suggested by Weinberg but largely ignored for two decades, was revived towards the end of the century by technical progress in the field of the renormalization group. It is now a very active field of research, providing an alternative to other approaches to quantum gravity.Written by one of the early contributors to this subject, this book provides a gentle introduction to the relevant ideas and calculational techniques. Several explicit calculations gradually bring the reader close to the current frontier of research. The main difficulties and present lines of development are also outlined.

What is the dark matter that fills the Universe and binds together galaxies? How was it produced? What are its interactions and particle properties?The paradigm of dark matter is one of the key developments at the interface of cosmology and elementary particle physics. It is also one of the foundations of the standard cosmological model. This book presents the state of the art in building and testing particle models for dark matter. Each chapter gives an analysis of questions, research directions, and methods within the field. More than 200 problems are included to challenge and stimulate the reader's knowledge and provide guidance in the practical implementation of the numerous 'tools of the trade' presented. Appendices summarize the basics of cosmology and particle physics needed for any quantitative understanding of particle models for dark matter.This interdisciplinary textbook is essential reading for anyone interested in the microscopic nature of dark matter as it manifests itself in particle physics experiments, cosmological observations, and high-energy astrophysical phenomena: from graduate students and advanced undergraduates to cosmologists and astrophysicists interested in particle models for dark matter and particle physicists interested in early-universe cosmology and high-energy astrophysics.

This comprehensive work thoroughly introduces and reviews the set of results from Belle and BaBar - after more than two decades of independent and complementary work - all the way from the detectors and the analysis tools used, up to the physics results, and the interpretation of these results. The world's two giant B Factory collaborations, Belle at KEK and BaBar at SLAC, have successfully completed their main mission to discover and quantify CP violation in the decays of B mesons. CP violation is a necessary requirement to distinguish unambiguously between matter and antimatter. The shared primary objective of the two B Factory experiments was to determine the shape of the so-called unitarity triangle, an abstract triangle representing interactions of quarks, the elementary constituents of matter. The area of the triangle is a measure of the amount of CP violation associated with the weak force. Many other measurements have been performed by the B Factories and are also discussed in this work.

Originally published in 1949 as part of the Cambridge Monographs on Physics series, and written in the aftermath of the great expansion of nuclear physics during WWII, this book by Samuel Devons deals with the excitation of 'bound' and 'virtual' states of nuclei, as well as radiative transitions between nuclear states. It will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of nuclear physics and in the development of nuclear theory.

This comprehensive volume summarizes and structures the multitude of results obtained at the LHC in its first running period and draws the grand picture of today’s physics at a hadron collider. Topics covered are Standard Model measurements, Higgs and top-quark physics, flavour physics, heavy-ion physics, and searches for supersymmetry and other extensions of the Standard Model. Emphasis is placed on overview and presentation of the lessons learned. Chapters on detectors and the LHC machine and a thorough outlook into the future complement the book. The individual chapters are written by teams of expert authors working at the forefront of LHC research.

Aimed at graduate students and researchers in theoretical physics, this book presents the modern theory of strong interaction: quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The book exposes various perturbative and nonperturbative approaches to the theory, including chiral effective theory, the problems of anomalies, vacuum tunnel transitions, and the problem of divergence of the perturbative series. The QCD sum rules approach is exposed in detail. A great variety of hadronic properties (masses of mesons and baryons, magnetic moments, form factors, quark distributions in hadrons, etc.) have been found using this method. The evolution of hadronic structure functions is presented in detail, together with polarization phenomena. The problem of jets in QCD is treated through theoretical description and experimental observation. The connection with Regge theory is emphasized. The book covers many aspects of theory which are not discussed in other books, such as CET, QCD sum rules, and BFKL. Provides a deep understanding of various aspects of the modern theory of strong interaction Presents the general properties of QCD, before exploring perturbative and nonperturbative approaches Discusses aspects of the theory such as CET, QCD sum rules, and BFKL, which are not covered in other books"

Originally published in 1952 as part of the Cambridge Monographs on Physics series, this book discusses the contemporary state of research into the Auger Effect and the internal conversion of gamma radiation. Burhop also addresses internal pair production and radiationless transitions in molecular spectra, and photographic images of Auger electrons in action. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science and the study of radiation.

Originally published in 1949 as part of the Cambridge Monographs on Physics series, this book provides an outline of the main phenomena and techniques of radioactivity as understood at the time. Moon focuses on the radioactive properties of artificially-made atomic nuclei, as well as both the processes which result in a changed atomic number and those that do not. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of nuclear physics and the state of research after WWII.

Originally published in 1951 as part of the Cambridge Monographs on Physics series, this book examines the potential of the cloud chamber as an instrument of precise measurement. Wilson includes guidance on how to interpret cloud chamber photographs and basic principles of operation. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science and the post-war study of radiation.

Stefan Nanz investigates the necessity for three multipole families in classical electrodynamics. He shows that by imposing symmetry and parity constraints, it is sufficient to deal with only two multipole families. This implies that the toroidal multipole moments do not represent an independent multipole family, and they only emerge in the long-wavelength limit.

Dark Energy and Dark Matter are among the greatest mysteries in modern cosmology. The present work explores in depth how large cosmic structures can help us unveil the nature of these components of the Universe. One the one hand, it focuses on a signature that Dark Energy imprints on the Cosmic Microwave Background through its impact on the time-evolution of gravitational potentials: the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (iSW) effect. Another cosmological background, the Cosmic Infrared Background, is considered for the first time in the study of the iSW effect and demonstrated to be a highly efficient and promising tracer. Changing the perspective on the problem, the use of superstructures for iSW detection is then extensively reviewed: using precise solutions to Einstein's general relativity equations, the full iSW effect is computed, especially due to the cosmic voids predicted by the theory. Using measurements from the most recent data, it is subsequently shown how the iSW probes the solidity of the cosmological standard model. On the topic of Dark Matter, an original study is presented, showing that temperature measurements of the intergalactic medium shed light on the nature of Dark Matter particles, providing the tightest constraints on their decay properties.

The IGISOL group at the University of Jyvaskyla studies the properties of nuclei far off the line of beta stability. These studies are performed locally at the Jyvaskyla Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility, as well as at a number of other laboratories such as the ISOLDE facility in CERN, at GANIL and in Helmholzzentrum GSI, the location of the future radioactive beam facility FAIR. The group is also actively involved in work to support the development of international future facilities EURISOL and aforementioned FAIR. This book presents carefully selected papers to portrait the work at IGISOL. Previously published in the journals Hyperfine Interactions and European Physical Journal A.

This book describes the fundamentals of particle detectors as well as their applications. Detector development is an important part of nuclear, particle and astroparticle physics, and through its applications in radiation imaging, it paves the way for advancements in the biomedical and materials sciences. Knowledge in detector physics is one of the required skills of an experimental physicist in these fields. The breadth of knowledge required for detector development comprises many areas of physics and technology, starting from interactions of particles with matter, gas- and solid-state physics, over charge transport and signal development, to elements of microelectronics. The book's aim is to describe the fundamentals of detectors and their different variants and implementations as clearly as possible and as deeply as needed for a thorough understanding. While this comprehensive opus contains all the materials taught in experimental particle physics lectures or modules addressing detector physics at the Master's level, it also goes well beyond these basic requirements. This is an essential text for students who want to deepen their knowledge in this field. It is also a highly useful guide for lecturers and scientists looking for a starting point for detector development work.

This brief reviews current research on magnetic skyrmions, with emphasis on formation mechanisms, observation techniques, and materials design strategies. The response of skyrmions, both static and dynamical, to various electromagnetic fields is also covered in detail. Recent progress in magnetic imaging techniques has enabled the observation of skyrmions in real space, as well as the analysis of their ordering manner and the details of their internal structure. In metallic systems, conduction electrons moving through the skyrmion spin texture gain a nontrivial quantum Berry phase, which provides topological force to the underlying spin texture and enables the current-induced manipulation of magnetic skyrmions. On the other hand, skyrmions in an insulator can induce electric polarization through relativistic spin-orbit interaction, paving the way for the control of skyrmions by an external electric field without loss of Joule heating. Because of its nanometric scale, particle nature, and electric controllability, skyrmions are considered as potential candidates for new information carriers in the next generation of spintronics devices.

Graduate students who want to become familiar with advanced computational strategies in classical and quantum dynamics will find here both the fundamentals of a standard course and a detailed treatment of the time-dependent oscillator, Chern-Simons mechanics, the Maslov anomaly and the Berry phase, to name a few. Well-chosen and detailed examples illustrate the perturbation theory, canonical transformations, the action principle and demonstrate the usage of path integrals. This new edition has been revised and enlarged with chapters on quantum electrodynamics, high energy physics, Green's functions and strong interaction. "This book is a brilliant exposition of dynamical systems covering the essential aspects and written in an elegant manner. The book is written in modern language of mathematics and will ideally cater to the requirements of graduate and first year Ph.D. students...a wonderful introduction to any student who wants to do research in any branch of theoretical Physics." (Indian Journal of Physics)

Cosmic rays consist of elementary particles with enormous energy which originate from outside our solar system and constantly hit the Earth's atmosphere. Where do these cosmic rays originate? How does nature accelerate the cosmic-ray particles to energies with orders of magnitude beyond the limits of manmade particle accelerators? What can we learn by measuring the interactions of the cosmic rays with the atmosphere? Digital radio-antenna arrays offer a promising, complementary measurement method for high-energy cosmic rays. This thesis reports on substantial advances in the development of the radio technique, which will be used to address these questions in future experiments.

In 2010, the ALPHA collaboration achieved a first for mankind: the stable, long-term storage of atomic antimatter, a project carried out a the Antiproton Decelerator facility at CERN. A crucial element of this observation was a dedicated silicon vertexing detector used to identify and analyze antihydrogen annihilations. This thesis reports the methods used to reconstruct the annihilation location. Specifically, the methods used to identify and extrapolate charged particle tracks and estimate the originating annihilation location are outlined. Finally, the experimental results demonstrating the first-ever magnetic confinement of antihydrogen atoms are presented. These results rely heavily on the silicon detector, and as such, the role of the annihilation vertex reconstruction is emphasized.

Dark matter is among the most important open problems in modern physics. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, this book describes the theoretical and experimental aspects of the dark matter problem in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Featuring contributions from 48 leading theorists and experimentalists, it presents many aspects, from astrophysical observations to particle physics candidates, and from the prospects for detection at colliders to direct and indirect searches. The book introduces observational evidence for dark matter along with a detailed discussion of the state-of-the-art of numerical simulations and alternative explanations in terms of modified gravity. It then moves on to the candidates arising from theories beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, and to the prospects for detection at accelerators. It concludes by looking at direct and indirect dark matter searches, and the prospects for detecting the particle nature of dark matter with astrophysical experiments.

Tutorials on Moessbauer Spectroscopy Since the discovery of the Moessbauer Effect many excellent books have been published for researchers and for doctoral and master level students. However, there appears to be no textbook available for final year bachelor students, nor for people working in industry who have received only basic courses in classical mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, chemistry and materials science. The challenge of this book is to give an introduction to Moessbauer Spectroscopy for this level. The ultimate goal of this book is to give this audience not only a scientific introduction to the technique, but also to demonstrate in an attractive way the power of Moessbauer Spectroscopy in many fields of science, in order to create interest among the readers in joining the community of Moessbauer spectroscopists. This is particularly important at times where in many Moessbauer laboratories succession is at stake. This book will be used as a textbook for the tutorial sessions, organized at the occasion of the 2011 International Conference on the Application of Moessbauer Spectroscopy (ICAME2011) in Tokyo.

Nuclear Energy provides an authoritative reference on all aspects of the nuclear industry from fundamental reactor physics calculations to reactor design, nuclear fuel resources, nuclear fuel cycle, radiation detection and protection, and nuclear power economics. Featuring 19 peer-reviewed entries by recognized authorities in the field, this book provides comprehensive, streamlined coverage of fundamentals, current areas of research, and goals for the future. The chapters will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and energy industry experts.

In an epoch when particle physics is awaiting a major step forward, the Large Hydron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva will soon be operational. It will collide a beam of high energy protons with another similar beam circulation in the same 27 km tunnel but in the opposite direction, resulting in the production of many elementary particles some never created in the laboratory before. It is widely expected that the LHC will discover the Higgs boson, the particle which supposedly lends masses to all other fundamental particles. In addition, the question as to whether there is some new law of physics at such high energy is likely to be answered through this experiment. The present volume contains a collection of articles written by international experts, both theoreticians and experimentalists, from India and abroad, which aims to acquaint a non-specialist with some basic issues related to the LHC. At the same time, it is expected to be a useful, rudimentary companion of introductory exposition and technical expertise alike, and it is hoped to become unique in its kind. The fact that there is substantial Indian involvement in the entire LHC endeavour, at all levels including fabrication, physics analysis procedures as well as theoretical studies, is also amply brought out in the collection.

High-energy astrophysics has unveiled a Universe very different from that only known from optical observations. It has revealed many types of objects in which typical variability timescales are as short as years, months, days, and hours (in quasars, X-ray binaries, etc), and even down to milli-seconds in gamma ray bursts. The sources of energy that are encountered are only very seldom nuclear fusion, and most of the time gravitation, a paradox when one thinks that gravitation is, by many orders of magnitude, the weakest of the fundamental interactions. The understanding of these objects' physical conditions and the processes revealed by high-energy astrophysics in the last decades is nowadays part of astrophysicists' culture, even of those active in other domains of astronomy. This book evolved from lectures given to master and PhD students at the University of Geneva since the early 1990s. It aims at providing astronomers and physicists intending to be active in high-energy astrophysics a broad basis on which they should be able to build the more specific knowledge they will need. While in the first part of the book the physical processes are described and derived in detail, the second part studies astrophysical objects in which high-energy astrophysics processes are crucial. This two-pronged approach will help students recognise physical processes by their observational signatures in contexts that may differ widely from those presented here.

The book describes the experimental techniques employed to study surfaces and interfaces. The emphasis is on the experimental method. Therefore all chapters start with an introduction of the scientific problem, the theory necessary to understand how the technique works and how to understand the results. Descriptions of real experimental setups, experimental results at different systems are given to show both the strength and the limits of the technique. In a final part the new developments and possible extensions of the techniques are presented. The included techniques provide microscopic as well as macroscopic information. They cover most of the techniques used in surface science.

The QNP series of international conferences on Quarks and Nuclear Physics is by now a well established and highly respected forum where the most recent developments in the field are discussed and communicated. QNP 2006 is the forth edition of this biennial meeting. Selected and refereed original contributions of QNP 2006 have been published in The European Physical Journal A - Hadrons and Nuclei (EPJ A), while the present proceedings book, in addition to reprinting the articles published in EPJ A, further includes all other contributions selected and accepted by the organizing committee for publication and archiving.

Observations of neutrinos being emitted by the supernova SN1987A, star neutrinos, and atmospheric neutrinos have provided new insights into astronomy, as well as new unresolved phenomena such as the solar neutrino problem, spurring investigative studies among particle physicists and astrophysicists. One of the most important features of this book is its enumeration of a number of basic properties of neutrinos and their relationship to Grand Unified Theories, focusing on the origin of the neutrino's mass and the generation mixing of neutrinos. All the kamiokande results, detector performances, and complete references are included.