1st Edition

An Introductory Course of Particle Physics

By Palash B. Pal Copyright 2015
    816 Pages 121 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    For graduate students unfamiliar with particle physics, An Introductory Course of Particle Physics teaches the basic techniques and fundamental theories related to the subject. It gives students the competence to work out various properties of fundamental particles, such as scattering cross-section and lifetime. The book also gives a lucid summary of the main ideas involved.

    In giving students a taste of fundamental interactions among elementary particles, the author does not assume any prior knowledge of quantum field theory. He presents a brief introduction that supplies students with the necessary tools without seriously getting into the nitty-gritty of quantum field theory, and then explores advanced topics in detail. The book then discusses group theory, and in this case the author assumes that students are familiar with the basic definitions and properties of a group, and even SU(2) and its representations. With this foundation established, he goes on to discuss representations of continuous groups bigger than SU(2) in detail.

    The material is presented at a level that M.Sc. and Ph.D. students can understand, with exercises throughout the text at points at which performing the exercises would be most beneficial. Anyone teaching a one-semester course will probably have to choose from the topics covered, because this text also contains advanced material that might not be covered within a semester due to lack of time. Thus it provides the teaching tool with the flexibility to customize the course to suit your needs.

    Scope of Particle Physics
    What are elementary particles?
    Inventory of Elementary Fermions
    Which Properties?
    Fundamental Interactions
    High Energy Physics
    Relativity and Quantum Theory
    Natural Units
    Plan of the book

    Relativistic Kinematics
    Lorentz Transformation Equations
    Vectors and Tensors on Spacetime
    Velocity, Momentum and Energy
    Covariance
    Invariances and Conservation Laws
    Kinematics of Decays
    Kinematics of Scattering Processes

    Symmetries and Groups
    The Role of Symmetries
    Group Theory
    Examples and Classification
    Generators
    Representations
    Lorentz Group
    Poincaré Group

    A brisk Tour of Quantum Field Theory
    Motivating quantum fields
    Plane wave solutions
    Lagrangian
    Making Lorentz Invariants with Fields
    Lagrangians for Free Fields
    Noether Currents and Charges
    Quantum Fields as Operators
    States
    Interactions
    From Lagrangian to Feynman rules
    Calculation of Decay Rates
    Calculation of Cross-Sections
    Differential Decay Rates and Cross-Sections
    Feynman Diagrams Which Do Not Represent Physical Amplitudes

    Quantum Electrodynamics
    Gauge Invariance
    Interaction Vertex
    Elastic Scattering at Second Order
    Inelastic Scattering at Second Order
    Scalar QED
    Multi-Photon States
    Higher Order Effects

    Parity and Charge Conjugation
    Discrete Symmetries in Classical Electrodynamics
    Parity Transformation of Fields
    Charge Conjugation
    Parity Properties of Particle States
    Charge Conjugation Properties of Particle States
    Multi-Photon States
    Positronium
    Parity Assignment of Different Particles
    Signature of Parity Violation
    Consequences of Charge Conjugation Symmetry
    CP Symmetry

    Time-Reversal and CPT Symmetries
    Anti-Unitary Operators
    Time Reversal Transformation on Fields
    CPT Transformation on Fields
    CPT Theorem
    Consequences of CPT Symmetry
    Time Reversal Transformation on States
    Signature of Time Reversal Violation

    Isospin
    Nuclear Energy Levels
    Isospin Symmetry
    Pions
    Isospin Relations
    G-parity
    Generalized Pauli Principle
    Isospin and Quarks

    Pion-Nucleon Interaction

    Isospin breaking

    Baryon Number

    Discovering Particles
    Discoveries of Electron, Proton and Neutron
    New Particles in Cosmic Rays
    Accelerators
    Detectors
    Hadronic Zoo
    Detecting Short-Lived Particles
    Discovering Leptons
    Overview of Particle Physics Experiments

    SU(3) quark model
    Strange quark
    Hypercharge
    SU(3)
    Mesons from three flavors of quarks
    Baryons from three flavors of quarks
    U-spin and V -spin
    SU(3) breaking and mass relations
    Electromagnetic properties in SU(3)
    Decays of hadrons
    Summary of conservation laws
    Color

    Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
    Local SU(N) invariance
    Gauge fields
    Self-interaction of gauge bosons
    Fadeev–Popov ghosts
    Interaction of gauge bosons with other particles

    Quantum Chromodynamics
    SU(3) of Color
    Running Parameters
    QCD Lagrangian
    Perturbative QCD
    The 1/N expansion
    Lattice Gauge Theory
    Confinement
    Asymptotic Properties of Color Gauge Fields

    Structure of hadrons
    Electron-Proton Elastic Scattering
    Deep Inelastic Scattering
    Structure Functions and Charge Distribution
    Scaling
    Partons
    Parton Distribution Functions
    Parton Distribution and Cross-Section
    Fragmentation
    Scale Dependence of Parton Distribution
    Quark Masses
    Glueballs

    Fermi Theory of Weak Interactions
    Four-Fermion Interaction
    Helicity and Chirality
    Fierz Transformations
    Elastic Neutrino-Electron Scattering
    Inelastic Neutrino-Electron Scattering
    Muon and Tau Decay
    Parity Violation
    Problems with Fermi Theory
    Intermediate Vector Bosons

    Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
    Examples of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
    Goldstone Theorem
    Interaction of Goldstone Bosons
    Higgs Mechanism

    Standard Electroweak Model with Leptons
    Chiral Fermions and Internal Symmetries
    Leptons and the Gauge Group
    Symmetry Breaking
    Gauge Interaction of Fermions
    Yukawa Sector
    Connection with Fermi Theory
    Forward-Backward Asymmetry

    Electroweak Interaction of Hadrons
    Quarks in Standard Model
    Gauge Interaction of Quarks
    CKM Matrix and Its Parametrization
    Yukawa Interaction of quarks
    Leptonic decays of Mesons
    Spin and Parity of Hadronic Currents
    Selection Rules for Charged Currents
    Semileptonic Decays of Mesons
    Neutral Kaons
    Processes Involving Baryons

    Global symmetries of standard model
    Accidental symmetries
    Approximate symmetries
    Chiral symmetries
    Anomalies

    Bosons of Standard Model
    Interactions among Bosons
    Decay of Gauge Bosons
    Scattering of Gauge Bosons
    Equivalence Theorem
    Custodial Symmetry
    Loop Corrections
    Higgs Boson

    Hadrons Involving Heavy Quark Flavors
    Charm Quark and Charmed Hadrons
    Bottom Quark
    Neutral Meson-Antimeson Systems
    Top Quark
    Quark Masses
    Heavy Quark Effective Theory

    CP Violation
    CP Violation and Complex Parameters
    Kobayashi-Maskawa Theory of CP Violation
    Rephasing Invariant Formulation
    CP-Violating Decays of Kaons
    Other Signals of CP Violation
    Unitarity Triangle
    CP Violation and T Violation
    Strong CP Problem

    Neutrino Mass and Lepton Mixing
    Simple Extension of Standard Model
    Neutrino Oscillation
    Majorana Fermions
    Consequences of Lepton Mixing
    Lepton Number Violation
    Models of Neutrino Mass

    Beyond the Standard Model
    Shortcomings of Standard Model
    Left-Right Symmetric Model
    Grand Unified Theories
    Horizontal Symmetry
    Supersymmetry
    Higher Dimensional Theories
    String Theory

    Appendices
    A Units and Constants
    B Short summary of particle properties
    C Timeline of major advances in particle physics
    D Properties of spacetime
    E Clebsch-Gordan co-efficients
    F Dirac matrices and spinors
    G Evaluation of loop integrals
    H Feynman rules for standard model
    I Books and other reviews
    J Answers to selected exercises


    Index

    Biography

    Palash B. Pal

    "… a pedagogical, thorough, and enjoyable introduction to this fascinating subject. … a carefully written textbook on the Standard Model in the post-LHC era, at the level of a graduate-level course. … Theorists and phenomenologists with an interest in particle physics would also do well to acquire a copy. … The biggest strength of this book is its pedagogical clarity. … Apart from the pedagogical value for novices, the later chapters of the book are interesting for active high-energy physicists as well … as a textbook, Palash Pal’s tome on particle physics is accessibly written for serious beginning students, and is a great addition to the bookshelves of seasoned scientists interested in the phenomenological foundations of the Standard Model."
    Current Science, April 2015