Subject Grouping: Praxis

By Michael Mark Woolfson

World Scientific

In this book, the author discusses the scientific nature of light and colours, how we see them and how we use them in a variety of applications. Colours are the way that our vision system and – ultimately – our brain translate the different wavelengths of a part of the light spectrum. Other living things are sensitive in different ways to light and not all of them can see colours.

After presenting the science behind colours and our vision, the book discusses the use that mankind has made of colours. Ever since the time that humans lived in caves, we have used pigments to make graffiti on walls, which evolved into paintings and, lately, graphic art. Here, as is the case when designing decorations and dyes for clothing, the colours are not natural but man-made.

In the chapters that follow, the author reviews three technologies integrated in our everyday life that emerged as black-and-white and evolved into colour by way of photography, cinematography and television. The final part of the book is dedicated to describing various forms of light displays, mostly used for entertainment purposes, and to the application of colours as a code in many contexts – including road safety, hospital emergencies and industry.

Readers attracted by this mixture of science, art and culture will find the book easily readable.

By Alexander W Chao and Weiren Chou (eds)

World Scientific

Also available at the CERN bookshop

Volume 7 of Reviews of Accelerator Science and Technology is dedicated to colliders and provides an in-depth panorama of the different technologies developed since the construction in the 1960s of the first three: AdA in Italy, CBX in the US, and VEP-1 in the then Soviet Union.

Colliders have been crucial for proving the validity of the Standard Model, and they still define the energy frontier in particle physics because at present no machine can overcome the current LHC limit of 13 TeV in the centre of mass.

The book opens with an article by Burton Richter, a pioneer of high-energy colliders, who shares his viewpoint about their future. This is followed by contributions from leading experts worldwide, who discuss the characteristics, advantages and limits of machines that collide different types of particles. Proton–proton and proton–antiproton colliders are reviewed by Walter Scandale, electron–positron circular colliders by Katsunobu Oide, ion colliders by Wolfram Fischer and John M Jowett, and electron–proton and electron–ion colliders by Ilan Ben-zvi and Vadim Ptitsyn. Akira Yamamoto and Kaoru Yokoya then discuss linear colliders, Robert B Palmer muon colliders, and Jeffrey Gronberg photon colliders.

A section of the book is dedicated to the accelerator physics that form the basis of the design of these machines. In particular, Frank Zimmermann provides a general overview of collider-beam physics, while Eugene Levichev goes into more detail discussing the technologies for circular colliders.

The volume concludes with an article by Kwang-Je Kim, Robert J Budnitz and Herman Winick on the life of Andy Sessler, an accelerator physicist considered by his colleagues as an inspiring figure.

Comprehensive and containing contributions by high-profile experts, this book will be a good resource for students, physicists and engineers willing to learn about colliders and accelerator physics.

By Luciano Maiani and Omar Benhar

CRC Press

Quantum field theory (QFT) is the mathematical framework that forms the basis of our current understanding of the fundamental laws of nature. Its present formulation is the achievement of almost a century of theoretical efforts, first initiated by the necessity of reconciling quantum mechanics with special relativity. Its success is exemplified by the Standard Model, a specific QFT that spectacularly accounts for all of the observations performed so far in particle-physics experiments over many orders of magnitude in energy. Learning and mastering QFT is therefore essential for anyone who wants to understand how nature works on the smallest scales.

This book gives a concise and self-contained introduction to the basic concepts of QFT. As mentioned in the preface, it is mainly addressed to students with different interests who are approaching the subject for the first time, and is based on a series of lecture courses taught by the authors over the course of a decade at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Topics are selected and presented following their historical development and constant reference is made to those experiments that marked key advances, and sometimes breakthroughs, on the theoretical front. Some important subjects were not included, but they can be reconsidered later for more in-depth study.

The book is conceived as the first of a series that comprises two other texts on the more advanced topics of gauge theories and electroweak interactions (in collaboration with the late Nicola Cabibbo). The authors do not indulge in technical discussions of more formal aspects but try to derive the main physics results with the minimum amount of mathematical machinery. Although some concepts would have benefitted from a more systematic discussion, such as the scattering matrix and its definition through asymptotic states, the goal of giving an essential introduction to QFT and providing a solid foundation in this for the reader is achieved overall. The experience of the authors as both proficient teachers of the subject and main players is crucial to finding a good balance in establishing the QFT framework.

The first part of the book (chapters 1–3) is dedicated to a short review of classical dynamics in the relativistic limit. Starting from the principles of relativity and minimal action, the motion of point-like particles and the evolution of fields are described in their Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations. Special emphasis is given to symmetries and conservation laws. Quantisation is introduced in chapter 4 through the example of the scalar field by replacing the Poisson brackets with commutators of operators. Equal-time commutation rules are then used to define creation and destruction operators and the Fock space. Chapter 5 deals with the quantisation of the electromagnetic field. The approach is that of canonical formalism in the Coulomb gauge, but no mention is made of the complication due to the presence of constraints on fields. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to the Dirac equation and the quantisation of the Dirac field. Besides introducing the usual machinery of spinors and gamma matrices, they include a detailed analysis of the relativistic hydrogen atom as well as concise though important discussions about Wigner’s method of induced representations as applied to the Lorentz group, micro-causality and the relation between spin and statistics. The propagation of free fields is analysed in chapter 8, while the three chapters that follow introduce the reader to relativistic perturbation theory. Chapter 12 discusses discrete symmetries (C, P and T) in QFT, gives a proof of the CPT theorem and illustrates its consequences. The last part of the book is dedicated to applications of QFT formalism to phenomenology. The authors give a detailed account of QED in chapter 14 by discussing a variety of physical processes. The reader is here introduced to the method of Feynman diagrams through explicit examples following a pragmatic approach. The following chapter deals with Fermi’s theory of weak interactions, again making use of several explicit examples of physical processes. Finally, chapters 13 and 16 are devoted to the theory and phenomenology of neutrinos. In particular, the last section discusses neutrino oscillations (both in a vacuum and through matter) and presents a thorough analysis of current experimental results. There is also a useful set of exercises at the end of each chapter.

Both the pragmatic approach and choice of topics make this book particularly suited for readers who want a concise and self-contained introduction to QFT and its physical consequences. Students will find it a valuable companion in their journey into the subject, and expert practitioners will enjoy the various advanced arguments that are scattered throughout the chapters and not commonly found in other textbooks.

By Dan Green

World Scientific

The aim of this book is to show how software packages such as MATLAB can be extremely useful for studying cosmology problems by means of complex simulations. Thanks to the greatly improved accuracy of cosmological data and the increased computing power available, the calculation and graphic tools offered by this software can be profitably employed to study physics problems and compare different models.

A theory that successfully describes the universe and its evolution in terms of only six fundamental parameters has been developed. It accounts for the Big Bang (BB), cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation and the evolution of matter to the present day. However, the model cannot explain some experimental results. The inflation hypothesis, which postulates the existence of a scalar field that caused an exponential expansion of the very early universe, can solve some of these open problems.

This book provides a basic exposition of BB cosmology and the inflationary model using MATLAB tools for visualisation and to develop the reader’s understanding of the parametric dependence of the observables. Different models are compared, including one that assumes the Higgs field as the scalar inflationary field. In this way, readers can gain experience in using various MATLAB tools (including symbolic mathematics, numerical-solution methods and plots) and also apply them to other problems.

By Weimin Wu

World Scientific

The extraordinary scientific career and personal life of the Chinese-naturalised American physicist Weimin Wu have played out against the backdrop of profound political and cultural changes in China during the last 70 years.

In this autobiography, Wu describes the diverse and colourful events of his life and sketches a portrait of the social environment where they took place. He was personally involved in the making of the first atomic bomb in China, aged just 17, and he participated in the analysis of the data collected by the first artificial Chinese satellite, as well as in the construction of the first electron–positron collider. An e-mail that he sent from Beijing to Switzerland in 1986 is considered to be the first in the history of the internet in China. He was also a member of the research team that observed the first J/ψ particle in Beijing, and of the CMS experiment, where he worked on the search for the Higgs boson.

Not only has he had a remarkable career, his personal life has also been marked by many unusual and stormy events. He had a poor childhood, undertook various jobs as a labourer or a farmer, and was forced to emigrate to the US after becoming personally involved in the Tiananmen Square protest.

The author tells the story of his scientific trajectory and life “on the cusp” with a candid spirit, describing both the events and his inner feelings – details of his emotional experience and love stories add to the book.

By Lars Brink, Lay Nam Chang, Moo-Young Han and Kok Khoo Phua (eds)

World Scientific

Less than a year after his death at the age of 94, World Scientific has published a book honouring the memory of Yoichiro Nambu, who was one of the greatest physicists of the second half of the 20th century. A brilliant mind and a visionary thinker, Nambu contributed to the development of many areas of theory – from particle to condensed-matter physics.

In the 1960s, he introduced the concept of spontaneously broken symmetries (with G Jona-Lasinio) and identified a new symmetry for quarks and gluons (with M-Y Han). Both works can be considered cornerstones of the Standard Model of particles and forces.

This book provides an interesting collection of articles written by Nambu’s former collaborators, colleagues, students and friends. Through these contributions, the reader can gain an idea of the importance and variety of Nambu’s work, as well as learn about his personality. He is described by many of those who knew him as kind, warm and humble. Besides being very clever and “many years ahead”, he was also a good mentor. The volume concludes with the last scientific writing by Nambu himself, discussing the origin and development of particle physics.

By Frank Close

Oneworld

Also available at the CERN bookshop

In this book, Frank Close tells the story of the enigmatic life of renowned Italian physicist Bruno Pontecorvo, reporting plenty of historical details about his work and personal affairs. The reader is taken on a fascinating story, which develops in difficult times – the years just before, during and after World War Two.

Following an introduction about Pontecorvo’s early life, the story continues with a discussion of the discovery of neutron moderation in 1934 and the role played by Pontecorvo, along with its scientific and political consequences. The author gives many insights that will amaze physicist readers.

After this discovery, Pontecorvo begins his career as an international scientist. He moves to France in 1936, where he works with Frederic Jolit-Curie and meets Marianne Nordblom, his future wife. In 1938, Marianne and Bruno have their first son, Gil.

The events of the life and work of Pontecorvo are embedded in an incredible historical background. As an example, in March 1940, about 40 gallons of heavy water are shipped from Norway and hidden from Nazis in France. This precious treasure would later be taken to the UK by two scientists who were working with Pontecorvo. The heavy water is clearly related to the attempt to use and control nuclear fission.

In Paris, Pontecorvo joins the Communist Party. His political ideas will play a crucial role in his personal and professional life. When the Nazis invade France, Pontecorvo has to move away. Helped by his friend and colleague Emilio Segré, in 1940 he and his family set off for the US and settle in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In November 1942 he meets again his mentor, Enrico Fermi, who was interested – together with his collaborators – in the activities of Pontecorvo, and in particular in an instrument he designed to search for oil underground by detecting neutrons. As a consequence of this event, Pontecorvo gets the opportunity to move to Canada and join the Anglo-Canadian reactor project at Montreal, aimed at making a reactor based on uranium and heavy water.

In January 1943, Pontecorvo sets off for his new job, which he will hold for seven years. In Canada, he joins an active team made of some 100 scientists and engineers. At this time, the FBI sends three letters to the British Security Coordination Office in Washington because of concerns about the physicist’s communist sympathies. A number of interesting details and anecdotes are given by Close about this and other related events.

For security reasons, the Anglo-Canadian project is carried out at Chalk River, which then becomes a target for Soviet agents. The author provides fascinating insights about the spy network, collecting information on the nuclear programme in the years after the end of World War Two. Nunn May, a collaborator on the project, is arrested in 1946 for espionage.

During his years at Chalk River, Pontecorvo also becomes interested in neutrinos and carries out important studies.

He joins the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, UK, in January 1949. Although offered a number of positions in the US, he prefers to move to the UK. One month later, another colleague, Klaus Fuchs, is arrested for espionage. This is a difficult time for Pontecorvo, whose movements are followed by Military Intelligence. Close probes into events in Pontecorvo’s life during these years, to give the reader an idea of the role that he plays. He tells the story of the Soviet agent Lona Cohen, as well as of Kim Philby, another agent who might have had an important impact on Pontecorvo’s decision to escape to the Soviet Union at the end of the summer of 1950. The reader can try to solve the Pontecorvo enigma on the basis of the information reported – did he give information about the reactor commissioned in 1947 to the Soviet Union?

The life of Pontecorvo and his family in the Soviet Union is also described, detailing the problems they faced settling yet again into a new country, after France, the US, Canada and the UK. Many other interesting aspects of his life are discussed, including the events following 4  March 1955 when the physicist was interviewed in Moscow after five years of silence, and the happenings at an international meeting on high-energy physics that he attended in Kiev in 1959.

Close also reports on an interview with Pontecorvo by Italian journalist and writer Miriam Mafai, which gives a profound insight into his mysterious life. In my opinion, the book is very much worth reading and the amount of detail is impressive. The publication of this wonderful book is already stimulating discussions among physicists and will reawaken interest in the Pontecorvo enigma.

By Mario Campanelli

World Scientific

Also available at the CERN bookshop

In this concise book, Mario Campanelli provides an overview of particle-physics research at CERN. He starts with an introduction about the history of this branch of science, tracing the steps of its evolution through speculative theories and experimental proofs, up to the completion of the Standard Model puzzle with the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. It is hard to condense – and explain in relatively simple terms – all of this complex material. As a consequence, the first section of the book should be considered by particle-physicist readers as a brief summary of known concepts, while by non-experts in the field as a very quick overview of the basics of particle physics.

The following chapters focus on CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). After a short account of the history of the laboratory concerning the different accelerators and relative detectors that followed one another, the author discusses the challenges that scientists had to face to design, construct and commission the LHC – a giant, complex and technologically advanced apparatus. He explains how the machine works, from the superconducting magnets to the acceleration phases (realised consecutively in different pre-accelerators and, finally, in the collider) and the beam extraction, showing that the LHC is a marvel of engineering. No less important, of course, are the detectors, which are necessary to study the products of collisions for different research purposes. A chapter is then dedicated to describing the experimental apparatus of the four main experiments: ATLAS, CMS, ALICE and LHCb.

The reader is also given an idea of how data are selected, stored and analysed to extract interesting information, as well as of the physics topics that are investigated by these experiments, including the Standard Model (SM), quantum chromodynamics, b-quark and top-quark physics, supersymmetry and any sign of new physics. The latter is what physicists working at CERN are really eager to find – particles or phenomena that could enable theorists to go beyond the SM. A chapter is dedicated to the discovery of the Higgs boson – the most important result accomplished with the LHC up to now.

Since such a great endeavour cannot be realised without hard work, professionalism and collaboration, the author highlights the importance of the human factor in such a varied, multicultural and highly competitive environment. Finally, a few paragraphs on the impact of high-energy physics research on industry and society conclude the book.

Written in a fluid style, this book would appeal to those who, even if not completely unfamiliar with the topic, know little about collider physics, CERN and its experiments.