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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Particle & high-energy physics
The field of beam physics touches many areas of physics, engineering, and the sciences. In general terms, beams describe ensembles of particles with initial conditions similar enough to be treated together as a group so that the motion is a weakly nonlinear perturbation of a chosen reference particle. Particle beams are used in a variety of areas, ranging from electron microscopes, particle spectrometers, medical radiation facilities, powerful light sources, and astrophysics to large synchrotrons and storage rings such as the LHC at CERN. An Introduction to Beam Physics is based on lectures given at Michigan State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, the online VUBeam program, the U.S. Particle Accelerator School, the CERN Academic Training Programme, and various other venues. It is accessible to beginning graduate and upper-division undergraduate students in physics, mathematics, and engineering. The book begins with a historical overview of methods for generating and accelerating beams, highlighting important advances through the eyes of their developers using their original drawings. The book then presents concepts of linear beam optics, transfer matrices, the general equations of motion, and the main techniques used for single- and multi-pass systems. Some advanced nonlinear topics, including the computation of aberrations and a study of resonances, round out the presentation.
Nuclei and nuclear reactions offer a unique setting for investigating three (and in some cases even all four) of the fundamental forces in nature. Nuclei have been shown mainly by performing scattering experiments with electrons, muons and neutrinos to be extended objects with complex internal structures: constituent quarks; gluons, whose exchange binds the quarks together; sea-quarks, the ubiquitous virtual quark-antiquark pairs and last but not least, clouds of virtual mesons, surrounding an inner nuclear region, their exchange being the source of the nucleon-nucleon interaction. The interplay between the (mostly attractive) hadronic nucleon-nucleon interaction and the repulsive Coulomb force is responsible for the existence of nuclei; their degree of stability, expressed in the details and limits of the chart of nuclides; their rich structure and the variety of their interactions. Despite the impressive successes of the classical nuclear models and of ab-initio approaches, there is clearly no end in sight for either theoretical or experimental developments as shown e.g. by the recent need to introduce more sophisticated three-body interactions to account for an improved picture of nuclear structure and reactions. Yet, it turns out that the internal structure of the nucleons has comparatively little influence on the behavior of the nucleons in nuclei and nuclear physics especially nuclear structure and reactions is thus a field of science in its own right, without much recourse to subnuclear degrees of freedom. This book collects essential material that was presented in the form of lectures notes in nuclear physics courses for graduate students at the University of Cologne. It follows the course's approach, conveying the subject matter by combining experimental facts and experimental methods and tools with basic theoretical knowledge. Emphasis is placed on the importance of spin and orbital angular momentum (leading e.g. to applications in energy research, such as fusion with polarized nuclei) and on the operational definition of observables in nuclear physics. The end-of-chapter problems serve above all to elucidate and detail physical ideas that could not be presented in full detail in the main text. Readers are assumed to have a working knowledge of quantum mechanics and a basic grasp of both non-relativistic and relativistic kinematics; the latter in particular is a prerequisite for interpreting nuclear reactions and the connections to particle and high-energy physics."
Do we need to reconsider scientific methodology in light of modern physics? Has the traditional scientific method become outdated, does it need to be defended against dangerous incursions, or has it always been different from what the canonical view suggests? To what extent should we accept non-empirical strategies for scientific theory assessment? Many core aspects of contemporary fundamental physics are far from empirically well-confirmed. There is controversy on the epistemic status of the corresponding theories, in particular cosmic inflation, the multiverse, and string theory. This collection of essays is based on the high profile workshop 'Why Trust a Theory?' and provides interdisciplinary perspectives on empirical testing in fundamental physics from leading physicists, philosophers and historians of science. Integrating different contemporary and historical positions, it will be of interest to philosophers of science and physicists, as well as anyone interested in the foundations of contemporary science.
As the proceedings of a symposium in honor of Victor Weisskopf at MIT, this volume contains papers by leaders of physics at the time, including M Delbr ck, M Gell-Mann, H Bethe, T D Lee, B R Mottelson, W K H Panofsky, E Purcell, J Schwinger, S M Ulam, and others. Some papers address problems in the philosophy of physics, and physics and society, that are timeless in nature. But the symposium had a historical significance, in that it took place at a historic juncture of particle physics - the emergence of the Standard Model owing to experiments that point to the existence of quarks. Some of the papers reflect both the pre-quark and post-quark points of view. For these reasons, these proceedings merit reissue and reexamination.
This work tries to provide an elementary introduction to the notions of continuum limit and universality in statistical systems with a large number of degrees of freedom. The existence of a continuum limit requires the appearance of correlations at large distance, a situation that is encountered in second order phase transitions, near the critical temperature. In this context, we will emphasize the role of gaussian distributions and their relations with the mean field approximation and Landau's theory of critical phenomena. We will show that quasi-gaussian or mean-field approximations cannot describe correctly phase transitions in three space dimensions. We will assign this difficulty to the coupling of very different physical length scales, even though the systems we will consider have only local, that is, short range interactions. To analyze the unusual situation, a new concept is required: the renormalization group, whose fixed points allow understanding the universality of physical properties at large distance, beyond mean-field theory. In the continuum limit, critical phenomena can be described by quantum field theories. In this framework, the renormalization group is directly related to the renormalization process, that is, the necessity to cancel the infinities that arise in straightforward formulations of the theory. We thus discuss the renormalization group in the context of various relevant field theories. This leads to proofs of universality and to efficient tools for calculating universal quantities in a perturbative framework. Finally, we construct a general functional renormalization group, which can be used when perturbative methods are inadequate.
This book provides an extensive survey of all the physics necessary to understand the current developments in the field of fundamental cosmology, as well as an overview of the observational data and methods. It will help students to get into research by providing definitions and main techniques and ideas discussed today. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 summarises the fundamentals in theoretical physics needed in cosmology (general relativity, field theory, particle physics). Part 2 describes the standard model of cosmology and includes cosmological solutions of Einstein equations, the hot big bang model, cosmological perturbation theory, cosmic microwave background anisotropies, lensing and evidence for dark matter, and inflation. Part 3 describes extensions of this model and opens up current research in the field: scalar-tensor theories, supersymmetry, the cosmological constant problem and acceleration of the universe, topology of the universe, grand unification and baryogenesis, topological defects and phase transitions, string inspired cosmology including branes and the latest developments. The book provides details of all derivations and leads the student up to the level of research articles.
This book describes the basic concepts of supersymmetric theories. It is aimed at theorists, experimentalists and cosmologists interested in supersymmetry, and its content is correspondingly divided into three distinct tracks of study. The topics covered include a discussion of the motivation for supersymmetry in fundamental physics, a description of the minimal supersymmetric model as well as models of grand unification and string models, a presentation of the main scenarios for supersymmetry breaking, including the concepts and results of dynamical breaking. On the astrophysics/cosmology side, the book includes discussions of supersymmetric dark matter candidates, inflation, dark energy, and the cosmological constant problem. Some very basic knowledge of quantum field theory is needed and extensive appendices (in particular an introduction to the Standard Model of fundamental interactions) allow the reader to refresh and complete their notions.
The tokamak (a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber surrounded by
magnetic coils) is the principal tool in controlled fusion
research. This book acts as an introduction to the subject and a
basic reference for theory, definitions, equations, and
experimental results. Since the first introductory account of
tokamaks in 1987, when the tokamak had become the predominant
device in the attempt to achieve a useful power source from
thermonuclear fusion, and the developments and advances in the
subject covered in the second edition in 1997, following
substantial research on large tokamaks (the long awaited
achievement of significant amounts of fusion power and the problems
involved in designing and building a tokamak reactor), the emphasis
has been on preparing the ground for an experimental reactor. In
addition, there have been further significant advances in
understanding plasma behaviour, such as the wider experience of
internal transport barriers, the appreciation of the role of
tearing models driven by neoclassical effects and insights from
turbulence simulations.
This self-contained text describes breakthroughs in our understanding of the structure and interactions of elementary particles. It provides students of theoretical or experimental physics with the background material to grasp the significance of these developments.
The book is based on the lectures delivered at the XCIII Session of
the Ecole de Physique des Houches, held in August, 2009. The aim of
the event was to familiarize the new generation of PhD students and
postdoctoral fellows with the principles and methods of modern
lattice field theory, which aims to resolve fundamental,
non-perturbative questions about QCD without uncontrolled
approximations.
After twenty-five years of preparation, the Large Hadron Collider
at CERN, Geneva, is finally running its intensive scientific
experiments into high-energy particle physics. These experiments,
which have so captured the public's imagination, take the world of
physics to a new energy level, the terascale, at which elementary
particles are accelerated to one millionth of a percent of the
speed of light and made to smash into each other with a combined
energy of around fourteen trillion electron-volts. What new world
opens up at the terascale? No one really knows, but the confident
expectation is that radically new phenomena will come into view.
Special relativity provides the foundations of our knowledge of space and time. Without it, our understanding of the world, and its place in the universe, would be unthinkable. This book gives a concise, elementary, yet exceptionally modern, introduction to special relativity. It is a gentle yet serious 'first encounter', in that it conveys a true understanding rather than purely reports the basic facts. Only very elementary mathematical knowledge is needed to master it (basic high-school maths), yet it will leave the reader with a sound understanding of the subject. Special Relativity: A First Encounter starts with a broad historical introduction and motivation of the basic notions. The central chapters are dedicated to special relativity, mainly following Einstein's historical route. Later chapters turn to various applications in all parts of physics and everyday life. Unlike other books on the subject, the current status of the experimental foundations of special relativity is accurately reported and the experiments explained. This book will appeal to anyone wanting a introduction to the subject, as well as being background reading for students beginning a course in physics.
The main goal of this work is to familiarize the reader with a
tool, the path integral, that offers an alternative point of view
on quantum mechanics, but more important, under a generalized form,
has become the key to a deeper understanding of quantum field
theory and its applications, which extend from particle physics to
phase transitions or properties of quantum gases.
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.
This textbook brings together nuclear and particle physics, presenting a balanced overview of both fields as well as the interplay between the two. The theoretical as well as the experimental foundations are covered, providing students with a deep understanding of the subject. In-chapter exercises ranging from basic experimental to sophisticated theoretical questions provide an important tool for students to solidify their knowledge. Suitable for upper undergraduate courses in nuclear and particle physics as well as more advanced courses, the book includes road maps guiding instructors on tailoring the content to their course. Online resources including color figures, tables, and a solutions manual complete the teaching package. This textbook will be essential for students preparing for further study or a career in the field who require a solid grasp of both nuclear and particle physics.
Quantum theory is the soul of theoretical physics. It is not just a theory of specific physical systems, but rather a new framework with universal applicability. This book shows how we can reconstruct the theory from six information-theoretical principles, by rebuilding the quantum rules from the bottom up. Step by step, the reader will learn how to master the counterintuitive aspects of the quantum world, and how to efficiently reconstruct quantum information protocols from first principles. Using intuitive graphical notation to represent equations, and with shorter and more efficient derivations, the theory can be understood and assimilated with exceptional ease. Offering a radically new perspective on the field, the book contains an efficient course of quantum theory and quantum information for undergraduates. It is aimed at researchers, professionals, and students in physics, computer science and philosophy, as well as the curious outsider seeking a deeper understanding of the theory.
This book offers an original view of the color confinement/deconfinement transition that occurs in non-abelian gauge theories at high temperature and/or densities. It is grounded on the fact that the standard Faddeev-Popov gauge-fixing procedure in the Landau gauge is incomplete. The proper analysis of the low energy properties of non-abelian theories in this gauge requires, therefore, the extension of the gauge-fixing procedure, beyond the Faddeev-Popov recipe. The author reviews various applications of one such extension, based on the Curci-Ferrari model, with a special focus on the confinement/deconfinement transition, first in the case of pure Yang-Mills theory, and then, in a formal regime of Quantum Chromodynamics where all quarks are considered heavy. He shows that most qualitative aspects and also many quantitative features of the deconfinement transition can be accounted for within the model, with only one additional parameter. Moreover, these features emerge in a systematic and controlled perturbative expansion, as opposed to what would happen in a perturbative expansion within the Faddeev-Popov model. The book is also intended as a thorough and pedagogical introduction to background field gauge techniques at finite temperature and/or density. In particular, it offers a new and promising view on the way these techniques might be applied at finite temperature. The material aims at graduate students or researchers who wish to deepen their understanding of the confinement/deconfinement transition from an analytical perspective. Basic knowledge of gauge theories at finite temperature is required, although the text is designed in a self-contained manner, with most concepts and tools introduced when needed. At the end of each chapter, a series of exercises is proposed to master the subject.
This book is on inertial confinement fusion, an alternative way to
produce electrical power from hydogen fuel by using powerful lasers
or particle beams. It involves the compression of tiny amounts
(micrograms) of fuel to thousands times solid density and pressures
otherwise existing only in the center 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 ultrabright laser sources.
The Physics of Inertial Fusion 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 modelling, 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.
The book begins with a brief review of supersymmetry, and the construction of the minimal supersymmetric standard model and approaches to supersymmetry breaking. General non-perturbative methods are also reviewed leading to the development of holomorphy and the Affleck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential as powerful tools for analysing supersymmetric theories. Seiberg duality is discussed in detail, with many example applications provided, with special attention paid to its use in understanding dynamical supersysmmetry breaking. The Seiberg-Witten theory of monopoles is introduced through the analysis of simpler N=1 analogues. Superconformal field theories are described along with the most recent development known as "amaximization". Supergravity theories are examined in 4, 10, and 11 dimensions, allowing for a discussion of anomaly and gaugino mediation, and setting the stage for the anti- de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. This book is unique in containing an overview of the important developments in supersymmetry since the publication of "Suppersymmetry and Supergravity" by Wess and Bagger. It also strives to cover topics that are of interest to both formal and phenomenological theorists.
This is the resource that engineers turn to in the study of radiation detection. The fourth edition takes into account the technical developments that continue to enhance the instruments and techniques available for the detection and spectroscopy of ionizing radiation. New coverage is presented on ROC curves, micropattern gas detectors, new sensors for scintillation light, and the excess noise factor. Revised discussions are also included on TLDs and cryogenic spectrometers, radiation backgrounds, and the VME standard. Engineers will gain a strong understanding of the field with this updated book.
This book introduces in a thorough and self-contained way the production of electromagnetic radiation by high energy electron storage rings. This radiation, which is called synchroton radiation, has become a research tool of wide application. Physicists, chemists, biologists, geologists, engineers, material scientists, and other scientific disciplines use it as a structural probe for the study of surfaces, bulk material, crystals, and viruses. Solids, liquids and gases can be spectroscopically analysed by using synchroton radiation. This book brings together for the first time the properties as well as the means of production of synchroton radiation and presents them in a coherent and clear way. It will be an indispensable reference for all those involved in modern synchroton radiation experiments.
Fundamental concepts of phase transitions, such as order parameters, spontaneous symmetry breaking, scaling transformations, conformal symmetry and anomalous dimensions, have deeply changed the modern vision of many areas of physics, leading to remarkable developments in statistical mechanics, elementary particle theory, condensed matter physics and string theory. This self-contained book provides a thorough introduction to the fascinating world of phase transitions and frontier topics of exactly solved models in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory, such as renormalization groups, conformal models, quantum integrable systems, duality, elastic S-matrices, thermodynamic Bethe ansatz and form factor theory. The clear discussion of physical principles is accompanied by a detailed analysis of several branches of mathematics distinguished for their elegance and beauty, including infinite dimensional algebras, conformal mappings, integral equations and modular functions. Besides advanced research themes, the book also covers many basic topics in statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and theoretical physics. Each argument is discussed in great detail while providing overall coherent understanding of physical phenomena. Mathematical background is made available in supplements at the end of each chapter, when appropriate. The chapters include problems of different levels of difficulty. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students will find this book a rich and challenging source for improving their skills and for attaining a comprehensive understanding of the many facets of the subject.
Laser cooling allows one to slow atoms to roughly the speed of a mosquito and to control their motions with unprecedented precision. This elegant technique, whereby atoms, molecules, and even microscopic beads of glass, can be trapped in small regions of free space by beams of light and subsequently moved at will using other beams, has revolutionized many areas of physics. In particular, it provides a useful research tool for the study of individual atoms, for investigating the details of chemical reactions, and even for the study of atomic motion in the quantum domain. This text begins with a review of the relevant aspects of quantum mechanics; it then turns to the electromagnetic interactions involved in slowing and trapping atoms, in both magnetic and optical traps. The concluding chapters discuss a broad range of applications, including atomic clocks, studies of ultra-cold collision processes, diffraction and interference of atomic beams, optical lattices, and Bose-Einstein condensation. The book is intended for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students who have some basic knowledge of optics and quantum mechanics. An extensive bibliography provides access to the current research literature.
This book is an introduction to the theory of supersymmetry, which is a cornerstone to understanding the physics of elementary particles beyond the so-called "Standard Model". Supersymmetry is the first introductory book on this modern and increasingly popular subject. |
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