Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Underlying concepts; 3. Decay rates and cross sections; 4. The Dirac equation; 5. Interaction by particle exchange; 6. Electron-positron annihilation; 7. Electron-proton elastic scattering; 8. Deep inelastic scattering; 9. Symmetries and the quark model; 10. Quantum chromodynamics; 11. The weak interaction; 12. The weak interactions of leptons; 13. Neutrinos and neutrino oscillations; 14. CP violation and weak hadronic interactions; 15. Electroweak unification; 16. Tests of the Standard Model; 17. The Higgs boson; 18. The Standard Model and beyond; Appendixes; References; Further reading; Index.

Promotional Information

A comprehensive, up-to-date textbook integrating experimental results, including discovery of the Higgs boson, to convey the excitement of particle physics.

About the Author

Mark Thomson is Professor of Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Cambridge. He has over 700 publications covering a number of major areas in high energy particle physics. His main research interests are in electron-positron collider physics, neutrino physics and the development of novel and powerful reconstruction techniques for cutting edge detector technologies. In addition to his research activities, he has chaired a number of scientific reviews for STFC and until recently was the chair of its main peer-review committee. Mark Thomson's main research activities are centred around three main areas. He is one of the leading figures in the UK working on the physics and detector design for the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC) which may be hosted in Japan. This electron-positron collider would be the next major collider after the LHC, with the main goals of making precision measurements of the properties of the Higgs boson. He is also the world-leading expert on high-granularity particle flow calorimetry, which is driving the design of future collider detectors at the ILC, CLIC and beyond. In addition to his activities in collider physics, Mark Thomson is co-leader of the UK effort in the LBNE experiment, which is the next generation of long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment, aiming to discover CP violation in the leptonic sector. In the context of neutrino physics, he is also a member of the MicroBooNE collaboration, where he is leading the development of advanced reconstruction algorithms for large liquid argon neutrino detectors.

Reviews

'This advanced undergraduate textbook provides an excellent introduction to one of the most exciting areas of modern physics. It combines a pedagogical 'from first principles' approach with a comprehensive survey of the latest developments in particle physics, including the recent discovery of the Higgs boson. Thoroughly recommended for both students and teachers alike.' James Stirling, Imperial College London

'Professor Thomson has written a great textbook on modern particle physics (including a masterful exposition of the discovery of the Higgs boson) that provides a professional introduction to the field, suitable for upper-division undergraduate as well as graduate courses. His distinctive presentation style combines clarity with [an] admirable level of rigor. The book is richly illustrated with helpful diagrams and tables, and is destined to be a favorite of both students and instructors alike.' Dmitry Budker, University of California, Berkeley

'Mark Thomson has written a wonderful new introductory textbook on particle physics … [it] is well written … easy to read, with clear pedagogical lines of reasoning, and the layout is pleasing … as I am teaching an introduction to theory this autumn, I will definitely be using this book.' CERN Courier

'… gem of a book … excellent and highly readable … well structured with useful chapter summaries and many good student exercises with on-line solutions. It is thoroughly recommended.' The Observatory

'… this book has my highest recommendation. In its effective, clear and comprehensive treatment of so much detailed material, it represents a remarkable achievement on the part of its author, and is likely to become a standard work to put into the hands of new graduate students in particle physics. Their supervisors will do well to buy it too!' Peter J. Bussey, Contemporary Physics