Following their previous book on many-body theory, the authors have written a new volume focused on exactly solvable models, to add to the literature in this field. Several theoretical models are presented for selected systems in condensed states of matter – including solid, liquid and disordered states – and for systems of few or many bodies.
The book starts with an introduction to low-order density matrices, then discusses exactly or nearly exactly solvable models for several few-particle systems. The material is arranged according to the statistics of these particle assemblies, going from small clusters of fermions to small clusters of bosons – with specific reference to Efimov trimers in nuclear and condensed-matter assemblies – to anyon statistics.
The second group of chapters is dedicated to models for selected many-body systems in condensed matter, where particular attention is given to superconductivity and superfluidity, and to isolated impurities in a solid. Pair-potential and many-body force models for liquids are also discussed, as well as disorder and its implications for transport in solids.
The authors then deal with more general topics, in particular statistical field theory (discussing some specific models and critical exponents) and relativistic field theory. Open problems in quantum gravity are also briefly reviewed in the concluding chapter, and several appendices are included at the end of the book.
As the author himself states, the primary aim of this book is to explain why so many scientists choose to work on a theory that has no direct experimental support and is unlikely to have so anytime soon.
String theory, the origins of which date back to 1968, has developed into a major component of theoretical particle physics. It is most famous as a theory of quantum gravity and as a candidate unified theory of fundamental interactions at the smallest scales – so small that, unfortunately, we cannot directly test it with experiments.
Although string theory is built on a very solid mathematical basis and allows rigorous calculations, the author uses almost no equations. Rather than a textbook, this is a book on the history, science and philosophy lying behind a fascinating and speculative theory.
In the first part, the theory of quantum-mechanical relativistic strings is placed within the broader context of theoretical particle physics, and ultimately science in general. It is then discussed why there is still a need for ideas and paradigms that go beyond what we already know, and why string theory is a candidate for being a global theory that includes all others. Following this, the author describes the motivation driving this field and how this has evolved during the past 50 years. In particular, he dedicates various chapters to the connections of string theory with quantum field theory, mathematics, cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity.
The last part of the book discusses the social aspects of science: the diverse ways of approaching the topic as well as various personal driving forces. A chapter is also dedicated to the most significant criticisms of string theory, to which the author provides a reply.
The book is intended to appeal to laypersons interested in fundamental physics as well as to physics students, so the author chooses to avoid mathematical formulations of the theory. However, the risk is that the book is then not sufficiently clear and explanatory to be an easy read for non-experts, nor technical and detailed enough to appeal to students.
This concise book provides a rigorous introduction to the theory of nonlinear mechanics and chaos, suitable for students across physics, mathematics and engineering.
Nonlinear dynamics treats problems that cannot be “solved”, in the sense that it is not possible to derive equations of motion that describe the positions of the various parts of a system as functions of time using standard analytic functions. If, on one side, the formulations of mechanics of Lagrange and Hamilton lead to systems that cannot be solved in the usual sense of the word, perturbation theory, in turn, fails in providing approximate solutions because of the problem of small dividers. This is the path that led originally to the discovery of chaos, and it is the one that the author pursues in the book.
The first part is dedicated to the basic concepts of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation of mechanics, and to canonical transformations. The author then deals with more advanced topics, including Liouville’s theorem and perturbation theory. In the third part of the book, the modern theory of chaos is introduced. The author describes chaotic motion using the tools of discrete maps and Poincaré sections, along with the Poincaré–Birkhoff and Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser (KAM) theorems and their applications.
Each chapter is accompanied by a set of problems, with the last section providing more advanced projects that require some expertise in computing. As a conclusion, an appendix discusses the relevance of the KAM theorem to the ergodic hypothesis and the second law of thermodynamics.
The aim of this book is to bridge the gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the most recent advances in modern optics.
The author opts for an unconventional approach. Rather than providing an exhaustive treatment, he introduces a single analytic tool – the density matrix – to analyse complex optical phenomena and applies it to a wide range of problems. Among the many mathematical tools available to treat nonlinear and quantum optics, he chooses the density matrix because it is extremely versatile and applicable virtually to any problem. In particular, it is well suited for dealing with coherence in isolated or interactive systems, and allows researchers to ignore parts of a problem that appear irrelevant.
After covering the basics, the book quickly passes to more sophisticated topics. It starts with the simplest systems (stationary two-level atoms) and then introduces atomic motion and additional energy levels, and continues with a discussion of coherence effects effects (of first-, second- and third-order).
Finally, a section is dedicated to selected examples from recent research topics in which the use of the density matrix is profitable, including laser tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population trapping and transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency, squeezed light and quantum information processing.
The text is based on two decades of lectures and is oriented to graduate students not only of traditional disciplines such as physics, chemistry, electrical engineering and materials science, but also of interdisciplinary courses such as biophysics, biomedicine and photochemistry.
In this second revised edition, new sections on quantum interference, Fano resonances, optical magnetism, quantum computation, laser cooling of solids, and irreducible representation of magnetic interactions have been included, along with more than 40 new problems.
This book addresses five selected physics topics in modern cancer radiation therapy. Examining them in more detail than can be found in standard medical-physics textbooks, the author has also formulated and solved a large number of exercises that are provided at the end of each chapter, together with a detailed bibliography.
Despite its title, the book is not a substitute for comprehensive textbooks in medical-radiation physics, rather it complements them. It is therefore of interest to experienced medical physicists who would like to better understand the physics of their daily work, as well as to young researchers approaching this discipline for the first time, often following a PhD in particle physics.
The first section deals with the main tool of modern cancer radiation therapy: the electron linear accelerator (linac). Starting from the basics of electrodynamics, travelling- and standing-wave linear accelerators are discussed together with resonating cavities. Particular care is given to mathematical formulations and to the definition of symbols. This chapter could also appeal to accelerator physicists willing to know more about electron acceleration at energies of a few MeV.
Proton therapy, which is generally considered an advanced topic in medical radiation therapy, is approached in a somewhat easier way. Starting from an historical introduction, emphasis is given to accelerators and to dose-distribution systems, with a glimpse of future developments. It is a pity that carbon-ion therapy is not mentioned and that active dose-distribution systems are not discussed in more detail.
The two topics that follow address the daily work of the medical physicist. Dose-computation algorithms are treated following a careful mathematical formulation complemented by examples and references to practical cases. Deterministic radiation transport is introduced, starting from the basic quantities used in medical radiation physics. The transport and Fermi–Eyges equations are then derived and discussed.
The last theme, tumour control and normal tissue complications, is the most relevant for the patient. Is the therapy effective? What is the quality of life after treatment? The answers to these questions may be searched for using the bridge that connects physics to medicine. To accomplish this task, models are necessary. Starting from the concepts of probability and of dose-volume histograms, empirical and mechanistic models are presented together with the serial and parallel architecture of the organs in the human body.
The application of radiation physics to medicine is an expanding multidisciplinary field based on knowledge, tools and techniques derived from nuclear and particle physics. This book will therefore appeal not only to curious medical physicists and scientists active in the field, but also to physicists in general who – as the author comments – “like understanding”.
This book’s aim, as stated in the introduction, is to provide a practical introduction to particle physics in the LHC era at the level of an advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate course. Indeed, in its almost 400 pages, it covers a wide range of topics, from instrumentation and detector technologies to some mathematical techniques and the traditional particle-physics topics that are usually included in similar textbooks. It hovers, by design, at the border between the established textbooks aimed at undergraduates and the more advanced graduate texts that often start with quantum field theory.
Following the introduction, the book commences with a three-chapter sequence with somewhat technical content. Chapter 2, dedicated to mathematical methods, covers discrete symmetries, angular momentum and rotations in space, Lorentz invariance and the calculation of phase-space factors, decay widths and cross-sections, and concludes with a brief review of group theory. Chapter 3, on accelerators, includes a concise yet clear description of the basic concepts and terminology often encountered by students starting to work on experiments but not readily available. The topics include synchronicity, beam optics, Q values and beam tunes, luminosity, and even some characteristics of past accelerators. Chapter 4 is on particle detectors. Beyond the standard topics expected in such an overview, e.g. the interaction of particles and radiation with matter, the chapter includes topics that are usually neglected, including short presentations on signal generation, triggering of experiments and the selection of a magnetic field. As would be expected, calorimetry is well covered, as are tracking detectors, to which an extensive description, including an introduction to solid-state detectors, is included. The topics and detector examples provided are too centred on the LHC and its experiments, though.
Chapter 5, on the static quark model, is the first “particle-physics-proper” section. It’s a clear and self-contained introduction to mesons and baryons, with a modern perspective. The authors have decided to include heavy quarks (with the exception of the top quark) and their mesons and baryons, and the result is a full overview for the reader. Finally, chapter 6 on relativistic quantum mechanics concludes what could be called the first part of the book on “concepts, tools and methods”. There is a modern angle in this chapter: as an example, Weyl spinors are introduced and used, along with the associated Lorentz transforms and spin matrices. This material is better absorbed by graduate students. The rest of the chapter covers the traditional Klein–Gordon and Dirac equations, and introduces the electromagnetic interaction. It concludes with a short introduction to gauge symmetry.
Chapters 7–10 constitute a second part that concentrates on particle physics. Chapter 7, on weak interactions, covers all of the material from the four-point Fermi interaction to the Standard Model (SM), although without symmetry breaking. The descriptions of V–A, parity violation and the weak interactions of quarks, the CKM matrix and hadron decays via the weak interaction are clear, as is the extended introduction of SU(2) × U(1) symmetry as the basis of the SM. Chapter 8, on experimental tests of electroweak theory, is one of the more modern presentations of the topics covered: it starts with neutrino interactions and charged and neutral currents, and moves to Z physics and then WW production at LEP. It includes some experimental aspects such as the use of resonant depolarisation for the precise determination of the LEP beam energy. Moving away from convention, the discovery of the W and Z bosons at the CERN SPS is left for after the LEP presentation. The chapter concludes with a brief presentation of the discovery of the top quark and some later results from the Tevatron.
Chapter 9, on dynamic quarks, breaks the flow slightly. It contains Rutherford scattering, the quark–parton model and neutrino interactions, and concludes its first part with electron–nucleon deep inelastic scattering. This is a departure from standard practice in most textbooks. The second part of the chapter is on the introduction of colour, QCD, parton distribution functions and hadron–hadron collisions, and the Drell–Yan process. The material, which is extensive but presented quite briefly, is more appropriate for undergraduates.
Chapters 10 (oscillations and CP violation in meson systems) and 11 (neutrino oscillations) are great introductions to physics mixing, both in the quark and the lepton sector. The discussion in chapter 10 is modern, with results from experiments at LEP, the B factories and hadron colliders. Chapter 11 has one of the best summaries on neutrino physics for this level: it starts with the first evidence of mixing in atmospheric neutrinos, and proceeds to laboratory experiments, and then the MSW effect, solar-neutrino oscillations and then three-flavour oscillations, concluding with the measurement of θ13. This chapter is a novel and useful addition to the textbook.
Chapter 12 is on the Higgs boson. It starts with a short introduction to spontaneous symmetry breaking and proceeds to a description of the discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The material, with the exception of a section on the statistical significance, which is too short and ill-placed to be useful, is at the right level for the advanced-undergraduate-to-graduate student audience.
The book concludes with chapter 13 on the LHC and BSM (physics Beyond the Standard Model). It has an interesting selection of topics, including expected ones like supersymmetry and some unexpected ones (for a textbook) like the search for new contact interactions and new resonances. The approach is quite experimental in that only the motivation for new phenomena is presented, and the theory is skipped. It is nevertheless a useful introduction to the subject, adequate for motivating students to explore further.
Overall, the book achieves its goal of bridging the gap between undergraduate and graduate textbooks. The descriptions of the various topics are mostly clear, although at times too short. In a formal course, the tutor would probably choose to cover the material in a slightly different mix to the order it is presented here, combining material from the first part (chapters 2–6) and the second part (mainly chapters 7–10). In summary, this is a welcome, useful and modern addition to the current list of textbooks in particle physics.
In this book the author offers an overview of Raman spectroscopy techniques – including Raman optical activity (ROA) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) – covering their applications and their theoretical foundations.
The Raman effect is an inelastic two-photon process in which the incident (scattering) photon is absorbed by an atom or molecule (the scatterer) that immediately emits a photon of different energy and frequency than the incident one. This energy difference, which arises because the incident photon vibrationally excites the molecule, is called the Raman shift. Raman shifts provide information on the molecular motion and thus its structure and bond strength. As a consequence, this effect is used for material analysis in Raman spectroscopy.
More important than the energy difference are the Raman intensity of the scattered light, which offers insights into the dynamics of the photon-perturbed molecule, and the electronic polarisability of the molecule, which is a measure of how easily the electrons can be affected by the light.
After introducing the Raman effect and the normal mode analysis, the author discusses the bond polarisabilities, the intensity analysis and the Raman virtual states. A group of chapters then cover the extension of the bond polarisability algorithm to the ROA intensity analysis and many findings on ROA mechanism resulting from the work of the author and his collaborators. The last chapter introduces a unified classical theory for ROA and vibrational circular dichroism (another spectroscopic technique).
This book, the 10th volume of the International Review of Nuclear Physics series, provides an overview of the current status of relativistic density functional theories and their applications. Written by leading scientists in the field, it is intended both for students and for researchers interested in many-body theory or nuclear physics.
Density functional theory was introduced in 1970s and has since developed in an attempt to find a unified and self-consistent description of the single-particle motion in a nucleus and of the collective motions of the nucleus based on strong interaction theory. Largely applied for heavy and super-heavy nuclei, this description allows mapping the complex quantum-mechanical many-body problem of the structure of these nuclei onto an adequate one-body problem, which is relatively easy to solve.
After explaining the theoretical basics of relativistic (or covariant) density functional theory, the authors discuss different models and the application of the theory to various cases, including the structure of neutron stars. In the last chapter, three variants of the relativistic model and the non-relativistic density model are compared. Possible directions for future developments of energy density functional theory are also outlined.
Readers interested in further details and specific research work can rely on the very rich bibliography that accompanies each chapter.
One of my struggles when I teach at my university, or when I talk to friends about science and technology, is finding inspiring analogies. Without vivid images and metaphors it is extremely hard, or even impossible, to explain the intricacies of particle physics to a public of non-experts. Even for physicists, sometimes it is hard to interpret equations without such aids. Pauline Gagnon has mastered how to explain particle physics to the general public, as she shows in this book full of illustrations but without lack of rigour. She was a senior research scientist at CERN, working with the ATLAS collaboration, until her retirement this year (although she is very active in outreach). Undoubtedly, she knows about particle physics and – more importantly – about its daily practice.
The book is organised into four related areas: particle physics (chapters 1 to 6 and chapter 10), technology spin-offs from particle physics (chapter 7), management in big science (chapter 8) and social issues in the laboratory (chapter 9 on diversity). While the first part was expected, I was positively surprised by the other three. Technology spin-offs are extremely important for society, which in the end is what pays for research. Particle physics is not oriented to economic productivity but driven by a mixture of creativity, perseverance and rigour towards the discovery of how the universe works. On their way to acquiring knowledge, scientists create new tools that can improve our living standards. This book provides a short summary of the technology impact of particle physics in our everyday life and of the effort of CERN to increase the technology spin-off rate by knowledge transfer and workforce training.
Big-science management, especially in the context of a cultural melting pot like CERN, could be very chaotic if it was driven by conventional corporate procedures. The author is clear about this highly non-trivial point: the benefits of the collaborative model we use at CERN in terms of productivity and realising ambitious aims. This organisational model – which she calls the “picnic” model, since each participating institute freely agrees to contribute something – is worth spreading in our modern and interconnected commercial environment, particularly because there are striking similarities with big science when it comes to products and services that are rich in technology and know-how.
As CERN visitors learn, cultural diversity permeates the Organization, and by extension particle physics. Just by taking a seat in any of the CERN restaurants, they can understand that particle physics is a collective and international effort. But they can also easily verify that there is an overwhelming gender imbalance in favour of men. The author, as a woman, addresses the topic of the gender gap in physics and specifically at CERN. She explains why diversity issues, in their overall complexity (not restricted to gender), are very important: our world desperately needs real examples of peaceful and fruitful co-operation between different people with common goals, without gender or cultural barriers.
For what concerns the main part of the book, which is focused on contemporary particle physics, chapters 1, 2, 3 and 6 are undoubtedly very well written, in the overall spirit of explaining things easily but nevertheless with full scientific thoroughness. But I was really impressed by chapter 4, on the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson, and 5, on dark matter, mainly because of the firsthand knowledge they reveal. When you read Gagnon’s words you can feel the emotions of the protagonists during that tipping point in modern particle physics. Chapter 5 is an excursion to the dark universe, with wonderful explanations (such as the imaginative comparison between the Bullet Cluster and an American football match). The science in this chapter is up to date and combines particle physics and observational cosmology without apparent effort.
I recommend this book for the general public interested in particle physics but also for particle physicists who want to take a refreshing and general look at the field, even if only to find images to explain physics to family and friends. Because, in the end, everybody cares about particle physics, if you can raise their interest.
This book provides a concise treatment of general relativity (GR) ideal for a semester course for undergraduate students or first-year graduate students in physics or engineering. After retiring from a career as an experimentalist in nuclear and particle physics, the author decided to teach an introductory course in GR at Virginia Tech, US. Many books are available on this topic, but they normally go into great detail and include a lot of material that cannot be covered in the short time of a semester. This new text by Blecher aims to cover this gap in the literature and provide just the essential concepts of GR.
The author starts with a review of special relativity and of the basic mathematical instruments, and then moves towards the explanation of the way that gravity affects time. This is discussed first for weak gravity via the conservation of energy using a Newtonian formulation with relativistic mass. Later in the book (chapter 5), it is rigorously treated in a completely GR framework. The Schwarzschild metric is also obtained.
In the following sections, GR is discussed in the context of the solar system (chapter 6) and of black holes (chapter 7). In the latter, an appealing example based on the movie Interstellar (Christopher Nolan) is used to discuss why a large gravitational time dilation is possible near a spinning – but not a static – black hole.
Chapter 8 focuses on gravitational waves. The first direct detection of these waves, produced by two black holes that merged into a single one, was announced in February this year, when the book was already going to print. Nevertheless, the author added a discussion on this discovery to the text. The theory of the binary neutron star-system radiation, referred to the binary pulsar discovered by R Hulse and J H Taylor, is also treated, but in the case of elliptical orbits, instead of circular ones as generally done for simplicity in textbooks.
Finally, a chapter is dedicated to cosmology, in which the results of numerical integrations, using the experimental data available for all the energy densities, are discussed.
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