by John Dirk Walecka, Cambridge Monographs on Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Cosmology, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521780438, £60 (€ 98).
The author is well placed to write a monograph on this classic subject which, like no other, bridges the gap between nuclear and particle physics through common concepts and techniques. He can look back on a long and distinguished career in this field as professor of physics at Stanford University, as scientific director of CEBAF (now Jefferson Lab), and now as professor of physics at the College of William and Mary.
The book is based largely on a series of lectures on the subject given at CEBAF. Given the author’s track record, it is only natural that the book should focus on electron scattering in the few-gigaelectronvolts energy domain. At the same time, it exploits the power of the theoretical concepts developed originally for low-energy scattering, to address an audience much wider than students and researchers at laboratories such as MIT Bates, JLab and the Mainz microtron. This is achieved through a clear structure and pedagogical distinction between the theoretical framework and practical applications.
The book is organized into five parts, two of which contain the core material. Part 2 – “General analysis” – is one of the most comprehensive reviews of the theory and phenomenology of electron-nucleus and electron-nucleon scattering that can be found in the literature today. This chapter is recommended reading not only for nuclear physicists, but also for every graduate student working on electron, muon and neutrino scattering, to acquire a detailed understanding of the roots and the development of the formalism applied to present-day high-energy experiments. It includes discussions of polarized deep inelastic scattering and of parity violation in electron scattering.
Part 4 – “Selected examples” – is targeted specifically at nuclear physicists.The applications of scattering theory focus on detailed discussions of classic nuclear-structure problems and experiments; three sections on the quark model, QCD, and the Standard Model embed the subject in the wider theoretical context. Recent deep inelastic electron and muon scattering experiments are not covered in a systematic way (however, they have been discussed in many other excellent reviews).
The three remaining parts of the book are more succinct. Part 1 is an easy-to-read introduction, and part 3 discusses quantum electrodynamics and provides an introduction to radiative corrections, which unfortunately is too concise to be of much practical use. Finally, part 5 gives an overview of future directions, which again focuses on the CEBAF/JLab experimental programme. A useful feature is an extensive set of appendices, providing handy reference material.
The author has accomplished a successful blend of textbook and monograph. Written by a nuclear physicist for nuclear physicists, it is a must for students and seasoned researchers alike engaged in electron-nucleus scattering. This book will also be eminently useful and rewarding for the deep-inelastic-scattering community to read, to learn about the origin of their field and its intimate relationship with one of the most important subject matters in nuclear physics.
