Subject Grouping: Praxis

By A V Anisovich, V V Anisovich, M A Matveev, V A Nikonov, J Nyiri and A V Sarantsev
World Scientific
Hardback: £65
E-book: £49

The necessity of describing three-nucleon and three-quark systems has led to continuing interest in the problem of three particles. The question of including relativistic effects appeared together with the consideration of the decay amplitude in the dispersion technique. The relativistic dispersion description of amplitudes always takes into account processes that are connected to the reaction in question by the unitarity condition or by virtual transitions. In the case of three-particle processes they are, as a rule, those where other many-particle states and resonances are produced. The description of these interconnected reactions and ways of handling them is the main subject of the book.

By David Wilkinson
Oxford University Press
Hardback: £25
Also available as an e-book

With doctorates in both astrophysics and theology, David Wilkinson is well qualified to discuss the subject matter of this book. He provides a captivating narrative on the scientific basis for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the religious implications of finding it. However, the academic nature of the writing might hinder the casual reader, with nearly every paragraph citing at least one reference.

Scientific and religious speculation on the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe is age-old. Wilkinson charts its history from the era of Plato and Democritus, where the existence of worlds besides our own was up for debate, to the latest data from telescopes and observatories, which paint vivid pictures of the many new worlds discovered around alien suns.

Readers familiar with astrophysics and evolutionary biology might find themselves skipping sections of the book that go into the specific conditions that need to be met for Earth-like life to evolve and attain intelligence. Wilkinson, however, is able to tie these varied threads together, presenting both the pessimism and optimism towards the presence of extraterrestrial life exhibited by scientists from different fields.

Despite referring to religion in the title, Wilkinson states early on that his work mainly discusses the relationship of Christianity and SETI. In this regard, the book provided me with much insight into Christian doctrine and its many – often contradictory – views on the universe. For example, despite the shaking of the geocentric perspective with the so-called Copernican Revolution, some Christian scholars from the era maintained that the special relationship of humans with God dictated that only Earth could harbour God-fearing life forms. Earth, therefore, retained its central position in the universe in a symbolic if not a literal sense. Other views held that nothing could be beyond the ability of an omnipotent, omnipresent God, who to showcase his glory might well have created other worlds with their own unique creatures.

After covering everything from science fiction to Christian creation beliefs, Wilkinson concludes with his personal views on the value of involving theology in searches for alien life. I leave you to draw your own conclusions about this! Overall, the book is a fascinating read and is recommended for those pondering the place of humanity in our vast universe.

By Ta-Pei Cheng
Oxford University Press
Hardback: £29.99
Also available as an e-book

Being familiar with the work of Ta-Pei Cheng, I started this book with considerable expectations – and I enjoyed the first two sections. I found many delightful discussions of topics in the physics that came after Albert Einstein, as well as an instructive discussion on his contributions to quantum theory, where the author shares Einstein’s reservations about quantum mechanics. However, the remainder of the text dedicated to relativity and related disciplines has problems. The two pivotal issues of special relativity, the aether and the proper time, provide examples of what I mean.

On p140, the author writes “…keep firmly in mind that Einstein was writing for a community of physicists who were deeply inculcated in the aether theoretical framework”, and continues “(Einstein, 1905) was precisely advocating that the whole concept of aether should be abolished”. Of course, Einstein was himself a member of the community “inculcated in the aether” and, indeed, aether was central in his contemplation of the form and meaning of physical laws. His position was cemented by the publication in 1920 of a public address on “Aether and the Theory of Relativity” and its final paragraph “…there exists an aether. According to the general theory of relativity space without aether is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time…”. This view superseded the one expressed in 1905, yet that is where the discussion in the book ends.

The last paragraph on p141 states that “…the key idea of special relativity is the new conception of time.” Einstein is generally credited with the pivotal discovery of “body time”, or in Hermann Minkowski’s terminology, a body’s “proper time”. The central element of special relativity is the understanding of the invariant proper time. Bits and pieces of “time” appear in sections 9–12 of the book, but the term “proper time” is mentioned only incidentally. Then on p152 I read “A moving clock appears to run slow.” This is repeated on p191, with the addition “appears to this observer”. However, the word “appears” cannot be part of an unambiguous explanation. A student of Einstein’s physics would say “A clock attached to a material body will measure a proper-time lifespan independent of the state of inertial motion of the body. This proper time is the same as laboratory time only for bodies that remain always at rest in the laboratory.” That said, I must add that I have never heard of doubts about the reality of time dilation, which is verified when unstable particles are observed.

Once the book progresses into a discussion of Riemannian geometry and, ultimately, of general relativity, gauge theories and higher-dimensional Kaluza–Klein unification, it works through modern topics of only marginal connection to Einstein’s physics. However, I am stunned by several comments about Einstein. On p223, the author explains how “inept” Einstein’s long proof of general relativity was, and instead of praise for Einstein’s persistence, which ultimately led him to the right formulation of general relativity, we read about “erroneous detours”. On p293, the section on “Einstein and mathematics” concludes with a paragraph that explains the author’s view as to why “…Einstein had not made more advances…”. Finally, near the end, the author writes on p327 that Einstein “could possibly have made more progress had he been as great a mathematician as he was a great physicist”. This is a stinging criticism of someone who did so much, for things he did not do.

The book presents historical context and dates, but the dates of Einstein’s birth and death are found only in the index entry “Einstein”, and there is little more about him to be found in the text. A listing of 30 cited papers appears in appendix B1 and includes only three papers published after 1918. The book addresses mainly the academic work of Einstein’s first 15 years, 1902–1917, but I have read masterful papers that he wrote during the following 35 years, such as “Solution of the field of a star in an expanding universe” (Einstein and Straus 1945 Rev. Mod. Phys. 17 120 and 1946 Rev. Mod. Phys. 18 148).

I would strongly discourage the target group – undergraduate students and their lecturers – from using this book, because in the part on special relativity the harm far exceeds the good. To experts, I recommend Einstein’s original papers.

By Alexander Belavin, Yaroslav Pugai and Alexander Zamolodchikov (ed.)
World Scientific
Hardback: £124

These two volumes contain original contributions of Alexei Zamolodchikov (1952–2007), who was a prominent theoretical physicist of his time. Volume 1 contains his work on conformal field theories, 2D quantum gravity and Liouville theory. Volume 2 includes his pioneering work on non-perturbative methods in 2D quantum field theory and on integrable models. Both volumes can be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students specializing in string theory, conformal field theory and integrable models of quantum field theory. They are also highly relevant to experts in these fields.

By Adrian Melissinos
World Scientific
Hardback: £28
E-book: £21

A personal account as a research physicist for more than 50 years in areas of particle physics and related fields, Adrian Melissinos’s insights into the ways that general research was carried out and the evolution of particle physics from 1958 to 2008 will prove interesting to science-history enthusiasts and particle physicists alike. Through this mix of personal reminiscences and professional journey, readers can relive the joy and excitement of research and teaching in small groups during those early years, while gaining a partial historical perspective of particle physics since the late 1950s.

By Victor Galitski, Boris Karnakov, Vladimir Kogan and Victor Galitski Jr
Oxford University Press
Hardback: £95 $165
Paperback: £45 $84.99
Also available as an e-book

Mastering quantum physics is a non-trivial task and a deep understanding can only be achieved through working out real-life problems and examples. It is notoriously difficult to come up with new quantum-mechanical problems that would be solvable with a pencil and paper, within a finite amount of time. This book presents more than 700 original problems in quantum mechanics, together with detailed solutions covering all aspects of quantum science. Collected during 60 years, first by the late Victor Galitski Sr, the material is largely new to an English-speaking audience. New problems were added and the material polished by Boris Karnakov. Finally, Victor Galitski Jr, has extended the material with problems relevant to modern science.

By James D Wells
Springer Verlag
Paperback: £44.99 €52.70 $49.95
E-book: £35.99 €41.64 $39.95

This remarkable and charming book introduces the idea of effective field theories from a novel point of view, making the concepts natural and – in retrospect – inevitable. As the author makes clear, all theories are effective theories. At just 73 pages, it is easily accessible to a graduate student or a bright undergraduate. It will also be welcomed by professional physicists for its readability and clear, compelling style.

In introducing the idea of effective theories, the author begins by considering Galileo’s law for falling bodies, neglecting air resistance. Keeping the symmetries assumed for the problem – here translational invariance – and the idea that the constant downward acceleration might be an approximation to a more complete theory that involves a dependence of g on height above the ground, Wells derives the form of the leading correction by taking into account Newton’s law of gravitation without explicitly invoking the inverse square law. Such an effective theory could have been used to search for an extension to Galileo’s law or to accommodate data, even in the absence of Newton’s more complete theory of gravity. The second chapter continues the discussion of gravity, this time assuming circular orbits (and the simple harmonic oscillator) and the sorts of deviations that might be allowed for, using the ideas of effective theories to analyse deviations from perfect circularity.

Chapter 3 considers effective theories of classical gravity, arguing for the general expectation of perihelion precession and that something like black holes could have been predicted and the Schwarzschild radius estimated before the discovery of general relativity. Using both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of the problem, this discussion is not only enlightening but a delight to read. The presentation of effective theories in these simple contexts – requiring neither field theory nor even quantum mechanics – makes their meaning, importance and universality clearer than the usual, more advanced introductions.

Assuming some knowledge of the Standard Model, chapter 4 shows how the Fermi theory can be thought of as an effective field theory that approximates it. Here the author considers in some detail the origin of mass and in particular neutrino masses beyond the Standard Model. He then concludes with a discussion of naturalness and the hierarchy problem – all from the viewpoint of effective theories.

The fifth and final chapter is more philosophical in nature, emphasizing how and why effective theories are more than truncations of more comprehensive theory. It also looks at how one can go about choosing between theories, before closing with implications for the LHC.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The approach is original and makes the whole concept of effective theories clear and natural. I will be urging all of my students to take an afternoon to read this wonderful introduction – and to think carefully and deeply about the many points that the author makes so well.