Product Description
The Standard Model is the most comprehensive physical theory ever developed. This textbook conveys the basic elements of the Standard Model using elementary concepts, without the theoretical rigor found in most other texts on this subject. It contains examples of basic experiments, allowing readers to see how measurements and theory interplay in the development of physics. The author examines leptons, hadrons and quarks, before presenting the dynamics and the surprising properties of the charges of the different forces. The textbook concludes with a brief discussion on the recent discoveries of physics beyond the Standard Model, and its connections with cosmology. Quantitative examples are given, and the reader is guided through the necessary calculations. Each chapter ends in the exercises, and solutions to some problems are included in the book. Complete solutions are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521880213. This textbook is suitable for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent text
Very liked this book. Very informative, quite clear. You can learn a lot. I think much better than Perkins.

Since it's first edition, you will see some errors here and there, but I did not find this to be problematic.

Elementary particle physics
I don't really like this book.It's orginization seems diffuse and its hard to look up basic information.

Elementary Particle Physics
This is a very fine addition to the literature. With all the developments in this field, this book will help beginners come up to date in an efficient manner. ... Read more

Product Description
Abraham Seiden brings more than 40 years of teaching and research experience to this advanced introductory particle-physics text. Designed for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics, Particle Physics: A Comprehensive Introduction provides the most complete and up-to-date introduction available. The author focuses on the basic principles of particle physics, using recent research data to illustrate key concepts, and provides a wealth of step-by-step calculations to develop students' understanding of core principles. ... Read more

Product Description
This text, part of the series "Major American Universities PhD Qualifying Questions and Solutions", contains detailed solutions to 483 questions/problems on atomic, molecular, nuclear and particle physics, as well as experimental methodology. The problems are of a standard appropriate to advanced undergraduate and graduate syllabi, and blend together two objectives: understanding of physical principles and practical application. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent problems and solutions book in Atomic Physics
This is the best problem and solutions book in Atomic Physics I sow! It has a broad variety of detail solved problems, from those which are almost easy to those which are really hard. I use that one like main book inAtomic Physics to prepare myself for Ph.D. qualifier. I also highlyrecommend this book to all graduate students, as well as to thoseundergraduate who are willing to learn more than they can from ordinaryundergraduate courses. ... Read more

Product Description
An understanding of the properties and interactions of the elementary particles is an essential prerequisite of research work in high energy physics. Much progress in the subject has been achieved with the aid of symmetry principles. In this 1980 book the concept of symmetry of invariance is employed as a unifying theme. Using a careful explanation of the mathematical formalism and with many applications to particular cases, the authors introduce the reader to the symmetry schemes which dominate the world of the particle physicist. The presentation will also appeal to mathematicians and physicists in other fields who are interested in the applications of the general principles of symmetry. After a brief survey of the particles and a review of the relevant quantum mechanics, the principal symmetries are studied in turn. Some technical points are relegated to appendices and the book contains extensive references. ... Read more

Product Description
An essential introduction to particle physics, with coverage ranging from the basics through to the very latest developments, in an accessible and carefully structured text.

Particle Physics: Third Edition is a revision of a highly regarded introduction to particle physics. In its two previous editions this book has proved to be an accessible and balanced introduction to modern particle physics, suitable for those students needed a more comprehensive introduction to the subject than provided by the ‘compendium’ style physics books.

In the Third Edition the standard model of particle physics is carefully developed whilst unnecessary mathematical formalism is avoided where possible. Emphasis is placed on the interpretation of experimental data in terms of the basic properties of quarks and leptons.

One of the major developments of the past decade has been the establishing of the existence of neutrino oscillations. This will have a profound effect on the plans of experimentalists. This latest edition brings the text fully up-to-date, and includes new sections on neutrino physics, as well as expanded coverage of detectors, such as the LHC detector.

• End of chapter problems with a full set of hints for their solutions provided at the end of the book.
• An accessible and carefully structured introduction to this demanding subject.
• Includes more advanced material in optional ‘starred’ sections.
• Coverage of the foundations of the subject, as well as the very latest developments. 

Customer Reviews (1)

Quite useless
I have used the book as a lecture assistent, and helped students during class sessions to work out some selected problems from the book. The problems are quite all right, and hints to all exercises are in the back of the book, well actually their not hints but like shovels to the forehead! You just have to xerox them onto paper, some additional remarks or rephrasings and you're done technically.

The text, however, is awful, although, it's easy to read. The book is designed for undergraduates with minor knowledge of quantum mechanics, but if you don't know a lot of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, almost all interesting pieces come out of the blue including formulas and their "derivations". What is in this book can be learnt from popular science books on particle physics. Of course, you will miss out on the formulas, but at least you think you can understand it and you will see the historical development.

For example, P-parity, C-parity, CP-invariance and violation, CPT-theorem, weak & quark mixing, weak selection rules, decay rates, etc. are all ill-defined or not at all, so really understanding them is impossible:
(*) Parity is discussed for fermions without stating the Dirac equation, which does not give much insight to its origin and relevance. A discussion of fermions without it is useless, unless you use only the Pauli principle and some loose arguments that are dropped as experimental facts.
(*) The decay rate is never defined (properly) in the book, although many numerical values are given throughout the book for certain processes. Moreover, two exercises in the 10th chapter ask you to show that two decay rates are equal under certain conditions, which is quite impossible, if you don't know what it actually is that you should try to prove.
Some topics are done too briefly, because the authors don't want to be too technical, but feel they cannot leave things out:
(*) Drawing Feynman diagrams is discussed nicely, but the "notation" for certain propagators and external lines is not in accordance with literature. The purely topological aspect of these diagrams is competely neglected, so it's merely presented as a "neat thingy to do without any particular reason", unfortunately.
(*) The gauge principle is mentioned and shown for electromagnetism very briefly and in non-covariant form, but it does not deal with it properly: either mention it and leave it, or do it properly, but don't create a cliff-hanger and then cut the safety rope.

I know this book is not intended to give undergraduates complete understanding of particle physics, but I cannot recommend it, unless you want to know some "tricks" in processes before you do the real deal in QFT courses. The effort Martin & Shaw have made is nice, the result isn't. ... Read more

Product Description
This popular book introduces the ideas, terminology, and techniques of high-energy physics. Views of matter from the atom down to the quark are discussed historically, in language that is accessible to readers who have no physics background. The author has also added a list of Web sites where the reader can find more information on particle physics. Introduction by Sheldon Glashow ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Perfect Condition
The book was in mint condition.It's a great GRE review for general particle physics knowledge.
- short read
- simple examples and problems at the end of each chapter (with solutions)
- recommended for the novice and undergrad physics major for test prep

Good for the layman
If you're unfamiliar with the world of particle physics I think this book is a good read. Despite some reviewers distaste with the student essays, I find the story telling aspect of the book helps the reader gain a more clear and concise perspective of what they are explaining. It seems easier to take in information when it is in story form over just straight facts layed out. Maybe I'm just childish, but oh well. This book will give you a basic understanding of basic particles, without overwhelming you with information that will in most cases just confuse the beginner. My only qualms is it's short and slightly dated (pre CERNs Large Hadron Collider).

A very good supplementary reading for high school students
A clear and concise introduction to particle physics.High school students who are interested in knowing more about particle physics will find this book very useful.Good to have one in a school library.

Don't waste your money.... or your time.
This book has some value, hence 2 stars not one. But slogging through student essays on how quarks date (really!)is insufferable.

Get Gordan Kane's "The Particle Garden" and get more.

Very Helpful Book
I have found this book simple and straightforward.It is a great introduction that cuts out unnecessary detail and introduces students to the basic facts they need to know.I give this book to both undergraduateand graduate students who join my High Energy Physics research group. Though it is aimed at a more general audience, I find that it is a nicefocused introduction and confidence builder for my research students. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (55)

enthralling

For the lay person, the book will probably stir up latent knowledge concerning the fallacy of this "oh too solid world".I took great delight in revisiting my sketchy familiarity with electromagnetism and the almost unfathomable lack lf "solidness" of matter.Perhaps you will shudder a bit as you travel with the author, down the quantum world in which we live.Lederman's story of places, academics and personalities involved, is enthralling. Since this book was published in the early 1990s, it cannot consider the hopefully exponential knowledge we will glean from the recent activation of the CERN accelerator.It does provide the groundwork of why it is so fundamental to our understanding of the conditions that have culminated in the universe as we presently understand it; where "thinking" (?) entities can even consider the existence of the Higgs (God) particle.The historical and present day characters involved are presented in a readable context and, while not absoultly unique, his heartwarming attitude toward the often neglected recognition of women that permeates the book refreshing and occasionally amusing.While the information was difficult for me; occasionally over my head, I found that ignoring a few of the details, did not detract from my enjoyment and education of Lederman's taking me by the hand through this wonderful world of quantum physics.I read some of it in small gulps and at other times, it was difficult to put down.What more could one ask of a book!

Anxiuosly waiting for Higgs and the final step in Reductionism
At t=0 there was an infinitely hot cosmic soup without mass, concentrated in a dimension-less and size-less space. In mathematics this is clearly defined as a singularity, everything is concentrated in a point with infinite energy. In mathematics a point is not a thing but it is "place". Unfortunately, at t=0 even the notion of place can not be defined. In a dimensionless space there can only be perfect symmetry. Then, at t=0, this initial symmetry is broken and time begins. Time is not symmetrical; it has a one-way direction from the past to the future (Only Godel and Nietzsche have other ideas). Time creates Change, and conversely or symmetrically; Change creates Time.
Providentially, otherwise we would not exist, our (?) universe constrained itself by limiting the rate of change to the speed of light. With this, the geometrical and algebraic structure of our space time continuum was established. The speed of light is the asymptotic limit when there is no mass. But to evolve the elementary mathematical space-time geometry into a real universe another critical ingredient is missing, mass! For the second time we were fortunate when at t=0 another major event occurred, the Higgs field was introduced. The Higgs field produced the force required for the creation of mass. The Higgs field combined with time, formes the recipe for turning energy into mass if you mix it with the speed of light. Without mass there would be no matter, without matter no anti matter. Without matter and anti matter there is no universe. Clearly, Time and the Higgs Field started the breakdown in symmetry which shapes our universe. At t=0, our universe constrained itself even more by limiting the breakdown in symmetry further by adding some other fundamental constants to the speed of light (Newton's constant of gravity, Coulomb's constant of Electro Magnetism and Planck's constants in Quantum Physics) and by imposing the universal laws of physics to itself.
All these ingredients started other fundamental processes in the early beginnings of our universe. These processes created the basic building blocks of our universe consisting of six Quarks and six Leptons and formed the four basic forces; Electro Magnetism, the Strong Force, the Weak Force (plus their twelve force carrying particles) and the elusive gravity.
This book explains this all and how we got there after 2,500 years of looking for the basic block of our universe (Democraticus' Atom). Leon Lederman also tells us that everything can and has been verified and reproduced in very expensive experiments using multi billion instruments (particle accelerators).
Still.....there is one thing missing, we have never seen the particle which "carries" the Higgs field (remember quantum physics where everything can be a particle and a wave and you are never sure!). This particle is the Higgs particle, also known as the God Particle.
Finding this will be the end of reductionism as a way of thinking to explain our universe. Perhaps the Higgs Particle will also finally lead the way on how to synthesize Einstein's General Relativity with Quantum Physics, with its Entanglement and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. What is left will be Religion, Metaphysics or perhaps the new science of Complexity Theory. Only God will know.
This book is a must read for everybody who is searching for the truth!

more fun than physics has a right to be
I read this book after hearing a lot of hooey about "quantum" non-science (example:a book called "The Field" which pretends that the Higgs field "means" that Homeopathy works, because all the water molecules remember what they were in contact with; another example: some local chiropractor put out a flyer on purple paper claiming they did something to your body that was in accord with "quantum mechanical" principles).This book is an antidote to that kind of hogwash.

It is a palate-cleanser for the mind.

as a non-mathemetician I found it lucid and completely understandable.You can get the gist of what's going on in particle physics without the equations!

Thank goodness for this book!

Now if people would only READ it, instead of seeing the title and jumping to wrong conclusions (example Dan Brown's hilarious novel Angels & Demons which mistook just about everything it possibly could about particle physics, and even mentioned The God Particle, making it clear the author had never read anything but the book's spine).

Enjoy the book, and then dazzle your friends because you'll be a lot smarter afterwards.Painlessly.

Quarks, Leptons, Hadron, Meson, anti-matter, positrons
Quarks: up(u), down(d), charm (c), strange (s), top (t), bottom (b)
Leptons: electron neutrino (Ve), Muon neutrino (Vu), electron (e), muon (u), tau neutrino (Vt), tau(t)

Weak Force Messenger Particles are: W+, W-, and Z0.The weak force has a small radius of influence, 10 pow -19 meters.

Quark charges: u up = +2/3, d down=-1/3, s strange=-1/3, d^ negative down=1/3, u^= -2/3, s^ negative strange=1/3

Baryons: uud proton (2/3+2/3-1/3)=1, udd neutron(2/3-1/3-1/3)=0, uds lambda (2/3-1/3-1/3)=0,uus sigma plus (2/3+2/3-1/3)=1,dds sigma minus (-1/3-1/3-1/3)=-1, uds sigma zero (2/3-1/3-1/3)=0, dss xi minus (-1/3-1/3-1/3)=-1, uss xi zero (2/3-1/3-1/3)=0

Mesons: ud^ positive pion (2/3+1/3)=1, du^ negative pion (-1/3-2/3)=-1, uu^+dd^ neutral pion, us^ positive kaon (2/3+1/3)=1, su^ negative kaon (-1/3-2/3)=-1, ds^ neutral kaon (-1/3+1/3)=0, d^s neutral antikaon (1/3-1/3)=0

Baryons are three quark combinations.Protons, neutrons, lambdas, sigmas have a baryon number =1.Mesons, force carieers, and leptons have a baryon number=0. Protons can never decay since all the lighter decay product candidates have baryon numbers of 0.Protons can not decay into pions.It can't decay into a neutron and a positron or photons because ofcharge conservation.

Mesons consist of two quarks combinations.

Neutrons decay into a proton, electron, and electron neutrino.uud = neutron and converts to udd proton where the up quark converts to a down quark.D (-1/3) = W- + u(2/3)then W-= e + Ve or a W- equals an electron and electron neutrino.The down quark decays into a W- and an up quark. The W- decays into electron and antineutrino.W is the mediator of the Weak force.W+ and W- mediate the flow of particles from one state to another.W+ mediates the positive current and W- mediates the negative current.

Parity is respected by the strong and electromagnetic forces but not the weak forces.

There are eight gluons in the strong force. Quarks have asymptotic freedom meaning freedom in close proximity.However, gluons keep the quark within a bound radius.The stronger force overcomes the electromagnetic repulsion.The strong forces gets weaker and weaker as you get closer to the quark, but stronger the further you get from the quark.Stronger force gets weaker at high energies.The strong force close to quarks may approach the strength of the weak force.

The Higgs field surrounds space.Particles interact with the Higgs field and gain mass.

Questions:
1. Just the fact, please. If there is to be contempt, it should be for institutional constraints on thinking and not, a divine being.
2. Do Pions defy conservation of parity?
3. What is the life span for a W+, W-, and Z0 force particle?Do they have mass?
4. Why don't all pions break down into meuons and neutrinos?
5. How does the weak force explain the existence of matter and anti-matter? Does the Bayron number explain why protons can not decay?
6. Why do physicist think about symmetery?Does symetery make the mathematics more simple?Are there other mathematical models that could simply the mathematics?
7. Do muons have the same direction and spin as their parent pion?
8. How perfect must the electromagnetic field be to contain antiprotons?Is Tungsten the source of the antiprotons?
9. When will the Swiss Large Hadron Collider going to full strength? Will the LHC reach 14 TeV?
10. How have superconductive magnets reduced the electrical costs of the supercolliders.Will other rare earth or nanomaterials further reduce electrical costs?
11. Are particle physicist envious of fusion reactor theorist (WB7) which have penetrated the nucleus with far less cost?Will polywell ion wells become a new approach to discovering the energy of the nucleaus?
12. What does a quark look like?What does a proton look like?
13. How do particle accelerates create a gap to increase the kinetic energy of the particle.Which is more important, the speed of the particle or the kinetic energy?
14. Is the Electron volt necessary to produce the Higgs Boson a couple hundred GeVs? Is the upper limit of the LHC, 14 TeV?Will a Higgs Bonson form?Will it be safe or will a black hole form and collapse matter around it ending the experiment completely?
15. What particles interact with the Higgs field to gain mass?Why do photons have no mass when they interact with the Higgs field?What will the Higgs Boson prove?
16. What questions are particle physicist attempting to answer and what questions are they ignoring?
17. What is mass? Why do gluons pull get stronger as distance increases from the quark? How do gluon explain the strong force?Do quarks explain the weakforce and the electromagnetic force?
18. Under what conditions will a electron and a positron collide and form a Z zero particle?What particle stages need the Z zero particle?

What I'd like?
1. I'd like to tour the Swiss LHC.
2. I'd like to see the medical applications that are resulting form particle physic discoveries.

Fun read for armchair physicists
Author presents the subject of quantum physics in an easy to read format. Written almost twenty years ago, long before the great European CERN accelerator was even designed, this book accurately predicts the state of quantum physics today. Highly recommeded reading for any high school or college level physics course. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (14)

A Terrific Intro that Slows Down Near the End
The Good:All the rudiments of the field are presented including thorough explanations and diagrams.The author does not attempt to hide his bias for the conventional Standard Model of physics and even mentions the more exotic theories, doing so with a rational eye.

The length of the chapters and the book are just right, allowing someone to get through this in a week while still comprehending what they need to know.There is a good amount of meat to the chapters with little fluff.

The Bad: Towards the end of the book when the author goes into more complex topics and theories, he suddenly jumps from handholding the reader into an all-out lecture.Important events and physicists are also not always presented in the best context, either glossing over completely or focusing only on one luminary in a specific time.

The Ugly:There is also a lack of math and formulas, although that might be intentional.The appendixes are very nice although a touch more of cosmology and a more consistent pace would have been nice.

The best I've found so far, but there's a need for something better
There must a need out there for a good book about particle physics for the layman. It's such an important topic and with the prominence of the LHC in the news, you would think publishers would be striving to produce a book which is accessible, well-written, and richly illustrated. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be such a book out there.

This is the closest that I've found to that ideal. It's well written and covers the standard model effectively. It presents sufficient historical context to help the reader understand the relevance of the concepts, and thechapters on the experimental side of the particle physics were very helpful in tying the ideas to empirical evidence. The discussion of string theory was just enough to let the reader know of its relevance, and the epistemology discussions were a welcome diversion from dry scientific topics.

But, like other books on the topic, it would benefit from better illustrations. After all, symmetry is important to the standard model and naturally lends itself well to illustration, along the lines of what you would find in a Scientific American article. I'm still waiting for a good book for the layman on particle physics, but so far, this is the best I've seen.

Epistemology in Particle Physics
This is one of the many books on various disciplines of science which I bought between 2001-3.I bought this one in December 2001, but I didn't actually read it until March 2006.In this well-written volume on particle physics, Kane does more than the regular review of the particles that physics now considers make up the known universe.

He portrays an understandable history of discovery that clarifies some of the conceptions that seem muddled in either technical writing or the popular magazine portrayals of physics and theories of the universe.And Kane does not rest on the bare presentation of the chronological story of discovery.He evaluates each new level of discovery in light of the meaning for our understanding of the universe and how that contributes to our practical lives.

He deals with implications from these discoveries for our concepts of knowledge, how we learn, how we organize this new information, and how we integrate knowledge from this minute particle level of existence to our macro level of participation in the world around us. This book in a good contribution to the philosophy of knowledge, Epistemology.

Kane deals with concepts of understanding and verification procedures, which provides some reference points for epistemology on the wider basis.This is particularly pertinent in our current post-information age, when the various disciplines seem scattered and separated, due to the simply overwhelming volume of all that is known, all there is to know now, and all that this knowledge has pointed out needing to be yet investigated.

He addresses some points related to the boundaries and abilities of mythical, or religious, or mystical, points of view and the seemingly similar ideas presented nowadays by theoretical physics.This should be helpful for clarifying processes of knowing and validity of claims to knowledge.

Elementary particles for the, um, million
This is a pretty good book, but I'm still trying to work out just what audience it is best suited for.

How about a bright high school freshman, one who hasn't taken physics or even advanced algebra yet?Or perhaps someone a bit older who never took much mathematics.This book really does not require much (if any) math.

That might be good.Such a person might want to know about elementary particles.They're fascinating.And they are the building blocks of matter.

The book starts with an explanation of what particles are, a little history of particle physics, and (here's what a high school student might want to know) some description of what it is like to become a particle physicist: you go to college, you go to graduate school, you become a post-doc, you stay at a university, where you work on experiments or do theory, or maybe you just give up and get a job on Wall Street.

Then there is a description of the standard model, with the quantum numbers for the particles we know about.The Higgs boson is added to the list, even though it has not been discovered.And there is a discussion of high energy experiments, and plenty about that Higgs boson.

And there's material about supersymmetry and a little about cosmology.

There are a couple of appendices.One has a few pages on Feynman diagrams.Okay, that may confuse some readers but it is just an appendix.I'd leave it in.Another mentions internal symmetries.Here, I think some diagrams showing a few SU(3) multiplets wouldn't have hurt, but I guess Kane figured that telling about the families of leptons and quarks was enough.

In short, it is a good choice for the audience I mentioned.I just wish it had a little more in it.What's there gives a reader a good idea about why some folks find so much beauty and fascination in this field.

Boring
I've read several popular physics books, and I think this one was the worst.I hoped the followup "Supersymmetry" would be better.I think I made it through the first chapter before putting it down for good.Try Elegant Universe or one of Stephen Hawking's books instead. ... Read more

Product Description
This highly regarded textbook for advanced undergraduates provides a comprehensive introduction to modern particle physics. Coverage emphasizes the balance between experiment and theory. It places stress on the phenomenological approach and basic theoretical concepts rather than rigorous mathematical detail. Donald Perkins also details recent developments in elementary particle physics, as well as its connections with cosmology and astrophysics. A number of key experiments are also identified along with a description of how they have influenced the field.Perkins presents most of the material in the context of the Standard Model of quarks and leptons.He also fully explores the shortcomings of this model and new physics beyond its compass (such as supersymmetry, neutrino mass and oscillations, GUTs and superstrings). The text includes many problems and a detailed and annotated further reading list. The volume will also provide a solid foundation for graduate study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

horrible book
For those who have had to suffer through Perkins before switching to Griffiths, I gotta say that Perkins book will really make your life miserable. This books is terribly unorganized; speaks using concepts before explaining what they are. Perkins book is horrible compared to Griffiths. I don't know if it is the fact of how bad Perkins was that makes think that Griffiths book is fantastic, but I'm really glad I changed from this book, otherwise I would have miserably failed my particle physics class.

Be prepared before reading this.
This is a book whose content is close to that of most 'traditional' undergraduate courses on particle physics. Yet, you will probably be tempted to throw it in the dustbin after a few pages unless you have trained yourself into thinking that it's better reading it than failing your exam and have already read a book like Giffiths' before, where you will find some good theoretical basis for all this stuff.

Not horrible for what it is, but you can do better
Basically, If you want theoretical approach stop reading this and buy griffiths' book, it's a lot better.
I'm using Perkins for a course mainly made up of senior undergraduates.First of all, a lot of the other reviewers have ripped the book to shreds, and most of their complaints are valid.I'd like to point out that this book actually attempts a fairly difficult task of introducing relatively advanced concepts which require qft, to students without any background in field theory.
The long and the short of it is... Perkins' book is geared for learning with a phenomonological, experimental approach. This results in a lot of hand waving, and not many mathematical or theoretical insights.If you're expecting these things, the book will be dissapointing.
All of this aside, there are some major flaws in the book.First of all, it kind of lacks on organization.There are a lot of charts, tables and graphs thrown about at random, and with little reasoning or thought.This makes Perkins' fairly useless as a reference, since you might have to look at four or more different charts to find out the relevant properties of a given particle.
My other major complaint, is that Perkins uses a lot of jargon without sufficiently introducing the terminology.While, this is fine for people who already know particle physics, I'm guessing that if you're reading this book, you don't already know particle physics.
Finally, despite being a fourth addition, there are still a bunch of misprints/omissions.For example, there's a question (which i conveniently had for a homework assignment) totally based on a concept not mentioned anywhere within the book.Google searches on the topic led only to obscure and inaccessible papers.
Basically, if you have to use this book for a course be prepared to read and re-read each section of it, and to suppliment with other books.I'd suggest buying griffiths along with it, event if you're not into the whole theory thing.

Introduction to Experimental Methods
As many previous reviewers have already pointed out, this book is not nearly as good an introduction to theoretical high energy physics as Griffiths' "Introduction to Elementary Particles". The primary reason for this is that Perkins' book was never meant to be read as a theoretical course in the first place. This is why Griffiths introduces Feynman rules and gamma matrices near the middle of the book and uses them extensively throughout the rest; Perkins mentions them in passing in the first chapter and then completely forgets them. In Perkins you will find little rigorous math, but a lot of experimental physics. If you want to understand the theory behind T violation, use Griffiths. If you want to know how physicists measured the electric dipole momentum of the neutron ( thus putting an upper limit on the magnitude of T violation ), Perkins will explain it in detail, together with the schematics of the apparatus they used.
Overall, this book does not fit its title well - it is not a good introduction to high energy physics ( unless you are so totally averse to math that you can't manage Griffiths or Peskin/Shroeder ). However, it has its own purpose - that is, to teach experimental methods in high energy physics. It probably should be studied after Griffiths by those who are interested in experimental side of particle physics.

A absolutely horrible introduction to High Energy Physics
I used Perkin's book for a one sememester 500 level graduate course.I honestly believe that of the 20+ books that I have used in undergrad and grad school, that this is the absolute worst text I have encountered.The equations in the text are mearly thrown in without the slightest justification or hint of the possible method of derivation.If you would truly understand the significance of the equations, then you would need a background knowledge that I can hardly believe anybody looking for an introduction to high energy physics could have.However, this is far from its biggest pitfall.The book is choppy to read.There are almost no quantitative examples and yet the questions are mostly quantitative.I am sure that I could think of more specifics dislikes, but I think that the reader has seen my opion.To anybody considering buying this text I suggest instead purchasing griffiths "introduction to elementary particles."My class was so displeased with perkins text that our professor has promised to switch to griffiths next year.To reiterate....Perkins book is the epitome of bad writing.I give my apologies to the author, but I don't want others to waste their time and money on this text.Buy Griffiths Book, it is good! ... Read more

Product Description
Nuclear and Particle Physics is an accessible, balanced introduction to the subject and provides a readable and up-to-date overview of both the theoretical and experimental aspects of nuclear and particle physics. The emphasis is on the phenomenological approach to understanding experimental phenomena.

The text opens with an introduction to the basic concepts used in nuclear and particle physics and then moves on to describe their respective phenomenologies and experimental methods. Later chapters explore the interpretation of data via models and theories, including the standard model of particle physics and the liquid drop model and shell model of nuclear physics. Several applications of nuclear physics are discussed, including nuclear medicine and the production of power from nuclear fission and fusion. The book closes with a chapter on outstanding problems, including extensions to the standard model, implications for particle astrophysics, improvements in medical imaging and the prospects for power production. Problems are included at the end of each chapter, with a full set of solutions provided. Accessible overview of nuclear and particle physics suitable for a first course in the subject.

• Chapters are supplemented by an extensive set of problems with full solutions.
• Includes Appendices on some topics in quantum mechanics and relativistic kinematics.
• An invaluable text for all physics and astronomy students.

Customer Reviews (1)

A very good beginners text with problems and answers
This kind of text is very good for beginning students and as reference.
There are nicediagrams of new machines, mentions of breaks in the standard model
and neutrino mass.The Klein-Gordon equation is given in it's native
dimensional units of 1/ length^2 which is
better than in many texts that I have that use more artificial units in Messiah, Weinberg and Gordon Kane.
The text lacks a necessary approach to quantum groups or I would have given it 5 stars. ... Read more

Product Description

Based on the author’s well-established courses, Group Theory for the Standard Model of Particle Physics and Beyond explores the use of symmetries through descriptions of the techniques of Lie groups and Lie algebras. The text develops the models, theoretical framework, and mathematical tools to understand these symmetries.

After linking symmetries with conservation laws, the book works through the mathematics of angular momentum and extends operators and functions of classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. It then covers the mathematical framework for special relativity and the internal symmetries of the standard model of elementary particle physics. In the chapter on Noether’s theorem, the author explains how Lagrangian formalism provides a natural framework for the quantum mechanical interpretation of symmetry principles. He then examines electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions; spontaneous symmetry breaking; the elusive Higgs boson; and supersymmetry. He also introduces new techniques based on extending space–time into dimensions described by anticommuting coordinates.

Designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in physics, this text provides succinct yet complete coverage of the group theory of the symmetries of the standard model of elementary particle physics. It will help students understand current knowledge about the standard model as well as the physics that potentially lies beyond the standard model.

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This manual gives the solutions to all problems given in the book by A Das and T Ferbel. The problems are discussed in full detail, to help both the student and teacher get a better grasp of the issues brought up in the text and in the associated problems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

No rigor and slightly misleading
I used this book for my first 400-level course in junior year. I found right off the bat that it is a bit difficult to adjust to, as it will probably be one of your first books with the CGS unit system. This might cause miscommunication with the author and reader- for example, q*(r)^-2 is the electric field, but it will seem to be missing the constants of nature in front. While this is a well-known example of CGS use, some other formulas have an enigmatic nature because of these features. Also, many topics are covered but quickly given up as enigmatic features because little rigorous derivation takes place. For the most part, it does introduce many new concepts of nuclear and particle physics but with few and ambiguous explanations of the mathematics behind it all.

Misleading Ad
The ad conveniently hides the fact that this is a solutions manual for the author's text and does not link to the text book. What a rip off.

Weak on the standard model!
I used this book for a 3rd year university course in subatomic physics. What I particularly liked was the two chapters on symmetries, which were thorough compared to what i have seen in comparable textbooks. I also foundthe chapters on nuclear physics quite good, as they gave a very compactpresentation of the most important aspects of this subject. The weakestpart of the book in my opinion is the chapter on the standard model.

Ifyou don't know math and quantum mechanics you shouldn't buy this book as itis somewhat mathematical in style and uses fewer words than many comparabletextbooks. Readers who want a historical treatment of the subject mattershould look elsewhere too, as this book tells little about the experimentsthat were instrumental in developing subatomic physics. ... Read more

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An Introduction to the Standard Model of Particle Physics familiarizes readers with what is considered tested and accepted and in so doing, gives them a grounding in particle physics in general. Whenever possible, Dr. Mann takes an historical approach showing how the model is linked to the physics that most of us have learned in less challenging areas. Dr. Mann reviews special relativity and classical mechanics, symmetries, conservation laws, and particle classification; then working from the tested paradigm of the model itself, he:

• Describes the Standard Model in terms of its electromagnetic, strong, and weak components
• Explores the experimental tools and methods of particle physics
• Introduces Feynman diagrams, wave equations, and gauge invariance, building up to the theory of Quantum Electrodynamics
• Describes the theories of the Strong and Electroweak interactions
• Uncovers frontier areas and explores what might lie beyond our current concepts of the subatomic world

Those who work through the material will develop a solid command of the basics of particle physics. The book does require a knowledge of special relativity, quantum mechanics, and electromagnetism, but most importantly it requires a hunger to understand at the most fundamental level: why things exist and how it is that anything happens. This book will prepare students and others for further study, but most importantly it will prepare them to open their minds to the mysteries that lie ahead. Ultimately, the Large Hadron Collider may prove the model correct, helping so many realize their greatest dreams … or it might poke holes in the model, leaving us to wonder an even more exciting possibility: that the answers lie in possibilities so unique that we have not even dreamt of them.

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One of the triumphs of modern particle physics has been the extent to whichQuantum Chromodynamics (QCD) has successfully accounted for the strong interaction processes observed at high-energy particle colliders, for example the production of heavy quarks and jets of particles, and the short-distance parton structure of the proton.This book gives a detailed overview of high-energy collider physics with special emphasis on the study of QCD. After a general description of the QCD Lagrangian, and the properties of asymptotic freedom and color confinement that derive from it, the most important applications at high-energy colliders are described in detail.These include the production of jets, heavy quarks, electroweak gauge bosons and Higgs bosons.The various methods of measuring the strong coupling constant are summarized.Many of the theoretical results are calculated from first principles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

High-Energy Physics Background
This book serves as a useful reference for active high-energy physicists.The discussions, and especially calculations, cover a variety of Standard Model formalisms, which can be generalized to new physics calculations.The text by Barger and Philips, COLLIDER PHYSICS (Frontiers in Physics), is also very useful.

A practical introduction to collider physics
This book is for graduate students and researchers in elementary
particle physics. It covers how experimental results from
high energy particle colliders are related to the theory, with
an emphasis on the theory of quantum chromodynamics. The authors
are three of the leading experts in this area. In my opinion, the
book isn't perfect, but it's very good.

Please note the update page
Please note that the authors maintain an update and erratumpage at www.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk/theory/webber/QCDupdates.html END

Basic Tools
In this book you can find both a very brief and clear introduction to the theoretical picture ofQuantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and lots of phenomenological applications. It contains descriptions and data of manyparticles processes as some important exact calculations. It should be ofinterest to graduate students who intend to work in QCD. It is suggestedknowledge of elementary particles physics and field theory.I liked thisbook because it gave to me a comprehensive overview of the physics ofhigh-energy colliders. ... Read more

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This book provides an introduction and guide to modern advances in charged particle (and antiparticle) confinement by electromagnetic fields. Confinement in different trap geometries, the influence of trap imperfections, classical and quantum mechanical description of the trapped particle motion, different methods of ion cooling to low temperatures, and non-neutral plasma properties (including Coulomb crystals) are the main subjects. They form the basis of such applications of charged particle traps as high-resolution optical and microwave spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, atomic clocks, and, potentially, quantum computing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fairly dated by now, but was important in remaking the cosmic ray + particle physics
The early history of particle physics is cosmic ray physics. But after the invention of the cyclotron and generations of accelerator-based particle physics, the two fields had drifted far apart. This well-written little book by Tom Gaisser rebuilt the connections. Now we have "non-accelerator particle physics" and people working in air showers who consider themselves to be doing high energy physics.

It would be great for there to be a new edition of this book. Updated with Auger results, modern neutrino experiments, Askaryan pulse experiments, and the like...

on one equation
I looked at equation (3.22) for other purpose (than counting
cosmic ray particle collisions) and there seems to be a sign mistake in the first equation (integrated mass <25g/cm^2): as
it is, the equation indicates that the mass increases as the
air column gets smaller (or higher altitude).

It seems to be a pretty colorful "fitting formula" and it
could have been more useful if the reference to M. Shibata can
be found in the reference list (p.264: paperback) which may
have information on which "data" (most likely a combination
of measurements/modeling/computations) the formula originates from.

I presume that the next volume will have improved.

** the rating should be dismissed: I did not read through the
book and do not have a judgement. I chose the middle because I did not have choice not to choose.It will affect the
arithmetic statistics and if it matters, it is an unfortunate result of the limited survey method that mandates a choice of rating.

Fills a huge gap
With interest in cosmic rays and particle astrophysics growing, Tom Gaisser's Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics is really the only contemporary introduction to the field suitable for undergraduates as well as beginninggraduate students. There is no attempt to be fully comprehensive - thefield is too broad for that - but processes relating to extensive airshowers and their products (including muons and neutrinos) are covered insome detail. I regularly recommend this book to students who areconsidering research in particle astrophysics. There are a few gaps and afew topics covered in more detail than most people need, as is typical fora first edition. I hope Prof. Gaisser will find the time to prepare arevised and updated edition soon! ... Read more

Product Description
Besides being a problems/solutions addition to the well established textbook by Cheng & Li, this book introduces several new topics. It provides the reader with a self-contained approach to the subject, suitable even for those not familiar with the textbook. All problems have been given a descriptive title, enabling the reader to select according to his preferences. ... Read more

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This book provides a concise and coherent introduction to the physics of particle accelerators, with attention being paid to the design of an accelerator for use as an experimental tool. In the second edition, new chapters on spin dynamics of polarized beams as well as instrumentation and measurements are included, with a discussion of frequency spectra and Schottky signals. The additional material also covers quadratic Lie groups and integration highlighting new techniques using Cayley transforms, detailed estimation of collider luminosities, and new problems.

Contents: Introduction; Equations of Motion for Weak Focusing; Mechanics of Trajectories; Optical Elements with Static Magnetic Fields; Strong Focusing; Lattice Exercises; Synchrotron Oscillations; Synchrotron Radiation; RF Linear Accelerators; Resonances; Space-Charge Effects; How to Baffle Liouville; Spin Dynamics; Position Measurements and Spectra. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Accelerator Text
I am greatly enjoying my read-through of this textbook. It is written in a very easy manner to follow, which makes self study much more viable. The topics are all covered very accessibly, and the audience is the beginning but serious accelerator junkie (grad student). I heartily recommend this book to anyone beginning their study of accelerator or beam physics. ... Read more

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The scope of the detection techniques in particle detectors is very wide, depending on the aim of the measurement. Detectors cover the measurement of energies from the very low to the highest of energies observed in cosmic rays. Describing the current state of the art instrumentation for experiments in high energy physics and astroparticle physics, this new edition describes track detectors, calorimeters, particle identification, neutrino detectors, momentum measurement, electronics, and data analysis. It also discusses up-to-date applications of these detectors in other fieldssuch as nuclear medicine, radiation protection and environmental science. Problem sets have been added to each chapter and additional instructive material has been provided, making this an excellent reference for graduate students and researchers in particle physics. ... Read more

Product Description
The last years have seen a symbiosis of the fields of elementary particle physics and the astrophysics of the early universe. This text presents the background of the subjects and the latest developments at a level suitable for final year undergraduates and beginning graduate students. The first chapters cover the properties and interactions of elementary particles followed by discussion of the early universe, including inflation, dark matter and dark energy, and the growth of the galactic structure. The final chapters discuss cosmic rays and particle physics in the stars. The close relation between particle interactions and large scale development of the cosmos is a constant theme in the text, with emphasis on the interplay between experiment and theory.

This book is an enlarged and updated version of the first edition published five years ago. In a rapidly evolving field, emphasis has of course been placed on the most recent developments. However, the opportunity has also been taken to re-arrange the material and present it in more detail and at somewhat greater length. ... Read more