Particle Physics

In General > s.a. astrophysics; cosmology; experimental particle physics; relativistic cosmology; types of particles; unified theories.
* Energy scales: Different energy scales are characterized by different effective physics; < 100 GeV, four distinct forces; 100–10¹⁶ GeV, standard model, SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1); 10³–10¹⁶ GeV, perhaps N = 1 supersymmetry; 10¹⁶–10¹⁹ GeV, grand unified theory; > 10¹⁹ GeV, quantum gravity? string theory?
* Idea: The present theory is a beautiful framework based on quantum field theory, in which particles are just described by their couplings; They are "nothing more" than their couplings, and these are prescribed by their transformations under symmetry groups, plus some free parameters (coupling constants, masses and mixing angles); Another framework that has been used is the bootstrap theory.
* Particles: Described as (quantized) fields with values in some "internal" vector spaces, which carry (irreducible) representations of some symmetry groups; The choice of groups and spaces depends on the model, and the spaces group (known and predicted) particles into multiplets corresponding to preferred bases, the eigenvectors of the Hamiltonian or some other operator.
* Remark: Particle multiplets are usually written down as if they were column vectors; They are not; They are actually to be thought of as (orthonormal) bases in some vector space that carries the representation of the group in question; The column vectors are the states.
* Analogy: Fermions/matter and bosons/quanta is like hockey players and puck.

General References and Related Topics > s.a. electroweak; history of physics; standard model.
@ Reviews: Caso et al EPJC(98); Ellis pw(99)dec; Govaerts ht/02-in [and topology]; Álvarez-Gaumé & Lerche PRP(04) [at CERN].
@ Articles, I: Quigg SA(85)apr; Rubbia & Jacob AS(90); Miller Nat(91)jan [LEP year 1].
@ I: Zee 86; Close et al 87; Parker 87; Adair; Salam 90; Feldman & Steinberger SA(91)feb; Kane 95; Lederman & Schramm 95; Ne'eman & Kirsh 95; 't Hooft 96; Han 99; Rolnick 03; Veltman 03; Ford & Hewitt 04; Lincoln 04; Schumm 04; Fritzsch 05.
@ II: Okun 85; Close 86; Okun 87; Bowler 90; Icke 95; Das & Ferbel 03, Coughlan et al 06; Henley & García 07 [and nuclear].
@ III: Källen 64; Sakurai 64; Frazer 66; Gasiorowicz 66; Cheng & O'Neill 79; Lee 81; Domokos & Kovesi-Domokis 84; Halzen & Martin 84; Gottfried & Weisskopf 84, 86; Ryder 86; Zakrzewski 87; Kane 88; Collins et al 89; Nachtmann 89; Fayyazuddin & Riazuddin 92; Martin & Shaw 92; Shifman 99 [lectures]; Di Giacomo et al 04 [problems and solutions]; Rolnick 94; Scheck 95; Roe 96; Mosel 99; Lim 00 [problems]; Shifman et al ed-05; Griffiths 08.
@ Status / remarks: issue PT(64)nov; Weisskopf Sci(79)jan, pr(79); Gell-Mann pr(80); Salam AIHP(88); Waldrop Sci(90)mar; Ross CP(93); Wilczek IJMPA(98)hp/97; Kalmus CP(00); Ahn & Cavaglià GRG(02)hp-GRF; Schmidhuber ht/02; Wilczek NPPS(03)hp/02, hp/04-in; hp/04-in, NPPS(04); Ellis & Jacob PRP(04); Murayama IJMPA(04); Mavromatos a0708-in [and cosmology]; Perl PRL(08) [last 33 years]; Quigg SA(08)feb [upcoming LHC]; Weinberg IJMPA(08) [condensed matter and high energy].
@ Conceptual: Marshak 93; Galison 97 [nature of discipline]; Grinbaum a0806 [on the eve of the LHC].
@ Future: Bjorken IJMPA(01); Wilczek IJMPA(01)hp-in; Fleming et al hx/01-in; Akesson et al hp/06-rp [in Europe]; Wilczek IJMPA(08).
> And quantum physics: see bell' inequality; entanglement.
> Other topics: see areas of physics [applications].
> Online resources: see Internet Encyclopedia of Science pages.

Beyond the Standard Model > s.a. composite models; gravitation; GUTS; susy theories; unified theories.
* Idea: Unified models and extensions, requiring varying degrees of theory overhaul.
* Hints: Neutrino oscillations (_mu – _tau); 2001 & 2002, anomalous muon magnetic moment (g–2) reported (susy?).
* Stückelberg extension: An extension of the electroweak gauge group with an extra abelian U(1)_X factor.
* Preon and other constituent models: 1996, Evidence in high E_T jets at Fermilab? (> s.a. QCD).
* With extra dimensions: Possibilities are Kaluza-Klein, supergravity, strings and branes, non-compact extensions (with localization).
* Supergravity: Not to be tested soon (> supergravity).
@ General references: Ramond 00; Dijkgraaf ht/97-ln [conformal field theory, topological field theory, strings]; Chalmers ht/02 [M-theory based general relativity + standard model]; Kane SA(03)jun, hp/04-in [status]; Goldhaber IJMPA(04); Körs & Nath PLB(04), JHEP(05) [Stückelberg extension]; Pokosrki hp/05-ln; van der Bij PLB(06); Greenberg hp/06 [3-generation model]; Jenkins ht/06-PhD [and spontaneous Lorentz violation]; Kazakov IJMPA(07) [rev]; Gallo IJMPA(07) [rev, experiments].
@ Conformality approach: Frampton hp/06-in [phenomenology]; Frampton & Kephart a0706-PRP [rev, quiver gauge theory].
@ Beyond 3 generations: Frampton et al PRP(00); Belotsky et al ap/06-in [and dark matter]; Holdom JHEP(06) [what of 4th family?].
@ Gauge theory and general relativity: Dell & Smolin in(86); Chang & Soo PRD(96)ht/94 [connection variables]; Anandan PRL(98)ht/97 [global topology and discrete symmetries]; Besprosvany IJTP(00)ht/02 [gauge and spacetime symmetry]; Wu CTP(03)ht [?], CTP(03)ht [with massive graviton]; Anselmi PLB(04)ht [dimensional regularization].
@ Other theories: Roepstorff ht/98 [ito superconnections]; Ribaric & Sustersic Fiz(99)ht/98 [underlying theory]; Maher & Beck a0801-CSF [larger theory, chaotic quantization].
> Other theories: see branes; fifth force; kaluza-klein and phenomenology; Leptoquark; modified lorentz symmetry; nuclear; physics [TOE's]; strings; supergravity.

Based on Nonstandard Mathematics > s.a. non-commutative field theory.
@ Non-associative geometry: Wulkenhaar PLB(97)ht/96 [standard model], ht/96 [GUT's].

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