Gauge Theories in Particle Physics: A Practical Introduction, Volume 2: Non-Abelian Gauge Theories: QCD and The Electroweak Theory, Fourth Edition
Features
- Covers the non-Abelian gauge theories of QCD and the electroweak theory
- Presents extensive discussions of the renormalization group and spontaneous symmetry breaking, with examples from both particle physics and condensed-matter physics
- Offers an introduction to lattice quantum field theory
- Provides the necessary background in weak interaction phenomenology
- Develops the necessary group-theoretical results
- Includes problems at the end of each chapter
Solutions manual and figure slides available upon qualifying course adoption
Summary
Volume 2 of this revised and updated edition provides an accessible and practical introduction to the two non-Abelian quantum gauge field theories of the Standard Model of particle physics: quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the Glashow-Salam-Weinberg (GSW) electroweak theory.
This volume covers much of the experimental progress made in the last ten years. A new chapter on CP violation and oscillation phenomena describes CP violation in B-meson decays as well as the main experiments that have led to our current knowledge of mass-squared differences and mixing angles in neutrino physics. Exploring a new era in particle physics, this edition discusses one of the most recent and exciting breakthroughs—the discovery of a boson with properties consistent with those of the Standard Model Higgs boson. It also updates many other topics, including jet algorithms, lattice QCD, effective Lagrangians, and three-generation quark mixing and the CKM matrix.
New to the Fourth Edition
- New chapter on CP violation and oscillations in mesonic and neutrino systems
- New section on three-generation quark mixing and the CKM matrix
- Improved discussion of two-jet cross section in electron-positron annihilation
- New section on jet algorithms
- Recent lattice QCD calculations with dynamical fermions
- New section on effective Lagrangians for spontaneously broken chiral symmetry, including the three-flavor extension, meson mass relations, and chiral perturbation theory
- Update of asymptotic freedom
- Discussion of the historic discovery of a Higgs-like boson
The authors discuss the main conceptual points of the theories, detail many practical calculations of physical quantities from first principles, and compare these quantitative predictions with experimental results, helping readers improve both their calculation skills and physical insight.
Table of Contents
NON-ABELIAN SYMMETRIES
Global Non-Abelian Symmetries
Local Non-Abelian (Gauge) Symmetries
QCD AND THE RENORMALIZATION GROUP
QCD I: Introduction, Tree-Graph Predictions, and Jets
QCD II: Asymptotic Freedom, the Renormalization Group, and Scaling Violations
Lattice Field Theory and the Renormalization Group Revisited
SPONTANEOUSLY BROKEN SYMMETRY
Spontaneously Broken Global Symmetry
Chiral Symmetry Breaking
Spontaneously Broken Local Symmetry
WEAK INTERACTIONS AND THE ELECTROWEAK THEORY
Introduction to the Phenomenology of Weak Interactions
CP Violation and Oscillation Phenomena
The Glashow-Salam-Weinberg Gauge Theory of Electroweak Interactions
APPENDIX M: Group Theory
APPENDIX N: Geometrical Aspects of Gauge Fields
APPENDIX O: Dimensional Regularization
APPENDIX P: Grassmann Variables
APPENDIX Q: Feynman Rules for Tree Graphs in QCD and the Electroweak Theory
References
Index
Problems appear at the end of each chapter.
Author Bio(s)
Editorial Reviews
"Aitchison and Hey was the ‘bible’ for me as a young post-doc in the 1980s … The book has been revised regularly as the field progressed and I am delighted to see a new edition which brings it up to date to the discovery of a Higgs-like boson at the LHC in July 2012. … Its strength has always been the combination of the theory with discussion of experimental results. The new edition continues this tradition by including … discussion of the related important observations of the last ten years—CP violation and oscillations in the B sector and the now rich phenomenology of neutrino oscillations. This will become a new classic."
—Amanda Cooper-Sarkar, Oxford University, UK
"This is an indispensable textbook for all particle physicists, experimentalists and theorists alike, providing an accessible exposé of the Standard Model, covering the mathematics used to describe it and some of the most important experimental results which vindicate it. … Volume 2 has been updated with extended discussions on quark and neutrino mixing and inclusion of results on CP violation and neutrino oscillations … these textbooks will remain on the top of a high energy physicist’s reading list for years to come."
—Matthew Wing, University College London, UK
