What is Particle physics: Definition and 531 Discussions

Particle physics (also known as high energy physics) is a branch of physics that studies the nature of the particles that constitute matter and radiation. Although the word particle can refer to various types of very small objects (e.g. protons, gas particles, or even household dust), particle physics usually investigates the irreducibly smallest detectable particles and the fundamental interactions necessary to explain their behaviour.
In current understanding, these elementary particles are excitations of the quantum fields that also govern their interactions. The currently dominant theory explaining these fundamental particles and fields, along with their dynamics, is called the Standard Model. Thus, modern particle physics generally investigates the Standard Model and its various possible extensions, e.g. to the newest "known" particle, the Higgs boson, or even to the oldest known force field, gravity.

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  1. Mk

    About experimental particle physics

    I intend for this to be in General Discussion, which is why I put it here, please don't move it, but move it if you reeally have to. :frown: http://www-d0.fnal.gov/Run2Physics/WWW/results/prelim/HIGGS/H23/H23.pdf I don't know much about particle accelerator data, but page 6 looks pretty...
  2. D

    Theory - Particle Physics or Condensed Matter

    I'm starting an MSc in theoretical physics this October, and at the moment I'm considering specialising in Condensed Matter or Particle Physics, both of which look quite interesting. I was wondering which one had better career prospects. I suspect it's easier to get a well paid research job in...
  3. S

    What is the minimum opening angle between two photons in a neutral pion decay?

    I forget the problem exactly but the general solution is good. I believe it was a neutral pion decaying into two photons I don't know the numbers but I'm given momentum and it's gigantic, some GeV, opposed to the wussy pion mass so it's way relativistic I could do the first part easy, it...
  4. CarlB

    Can string theory make predictions for particle physics?

    I attended a string theory lecture this afternoon at the Joint Particle Physics 2006 meeting in Hawaii. One of the string theory parallel lectures caught my eye: Can string theory make predictions for particle physics? Washington Taylor, MIT The appearance in string theory of a wide range...
  5. marcus

    Not Even Wrong #1 UK bestseller in particle physics

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/278434/ref=pd_ts_b_nav/026-8303087-5718006&tag= The UK edition of Not Even Wrong is running ahead of Lisa Randall's Warped Passages, and Brian Greene's two most popular books: The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, at least according to...
  6. I

    Book question - Nuclear and Particle Physics

    Book question -- Nuclear and Particle Physics Has anyone out there read BR Martin's new book: "Nuclear and Particle Physics, An introduction" ?? There is no review in Amazon and I was wondering if it is any good?
  7. S

    Is Particle Physics the Key to Understanding the Universe?

    Hello everyone. I'm someone who is very interested in Particle Physics and their very nature. I could keep going:rolleyes: . I tend to annoy most people by logic reasoning by the laws of physics . So, I hope I'm welcome! S.
  8. U

    What Are Good Beginner Resources for Understanding Particle Physics?

    Hi all, I'm a rising sophomore in college and intern at SLAC. I'm trying to pick up a little bit more of a background in particle physics so I can analyze rare B decays. I've read a few books that have covered particle physics, but I've just picked up the flavor of it (no pun intended). I'm...
  9. john baez

    Baratin and Freidel: a spin foam model of ordinary particle physics

    With any luck, sometime soon you can read this paper on the arXiv: Aristide Baratin and Laurent Freidel Hidden quantum gravity in 4d Feynman diagrams: emergence of spin foams The idea is that any ordinary quantum field theory in 4d Minkowski spacetime can be reformulated as a spin foam...
  10. P

    Need particle physics Refrence

    Need "particle physics" Refrence hi:smile: actually , i am looking for a good book that i could down load freely throw the internet . i am studying physics at Damascus univ , Syria >>> thanks
  11. G

    Schools Colleges that offer degrees in nuclear and particle physics

    Anyone know of any specific colleges that offer degrees in one or both? I haven't seen many with degrees in Particle Physics. Thanks!
  12. M

    Reference to particle physics link

    Ok, here is the deal (you might laugh so hard that you hit your head in your screen;P) I had saved a link about particle physics from PF a while ago: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/5/1/3712/31700 My problem is that i can't remember if it was a good link or a paper that was debunked...
  13. J

    Heard from a particle physics lecture

    I heard from a particle physics lecture that no one (till now) knows what charge is. We know the interactions of things with charges and more or less its connections with other things, e.g. through electrodynamics, but no one can say what charge is. It is the same with time. I think something...
  14. P

    What is the best reference for understanding group theory in particle physics?

    group theory is an integral part of particle physics and one needs a good understanding of this before one switches on to reading particle phy ...please give me a good reference for this ... i m new to both group theory and particle physics ...thosugh i 've read about the historical evolutions...
  15. S

    Solving Particle Physics Relativity Problem: hbar*omega = DE (1 - DE/2Ea)

    Here's the problem: " A particle is in its first excited state with energy E[SIZE=1]a, [SIZE=2]before it decays to its ground state with energy E[SIZE=1]g [SIZE=2]by emitting a photon with an energy hbar*omega (omega = 2Pi*frequency) Why will the photon energy be smaller than DE= Ea -...
  16. Lisa!

    Particle Physics Book for Beginners

    What's the best particle physics book for a bigginer? Thanks.
  17. W

    Math required for particle physics

    Im wondering if anyone could help me on what math to study for particle physics. So far I have taught myself calculus (differential calc through vector analysis), differential equations (ordinary and partial), and I am currently studying linear algebra, and abstract algebra. I really want to...
  18. CarlB

    Particle physics in the Sunday cartoons:

    Foxtrot cartoon for July 3, 2005: http://www.ucomics.com/foxtrot/2005/07/03/ The solution should be obvious to readers of the thread. Carl
  19. A

    Technological offsprings of particle physics

    What technologies can be considered as offsprings of particle physics? (both everyday-life technologies and others).
  20. V

    Particle Physics: Unstable Nuclides, Beta & Positron Decays Explained

    Did I say Particle Physics? I shouldn't have said that. I don't know much about it. But still, what I came upto recently was this :- I read somewhere that unstable nuclides can disintegrate in several ways, beta decay and positron decay being two of them. In beta decay, a neutron gets...
  21. W

    Is there a classical book on particle physics

    like the title thanks
  22. J

    Particle physics - absorption length

    1) What percentage of incident photon radiation passes through 5 mm of material whose absorption coefficient is 0.7 mm^-1? What is an absorption length? I am lost here. Any input ...some mathematical formula for the absoprtion coefficient...would be a great help to me. 2) Why is the mean...
  23. E

    Programs Physics degree & Astrophysics with Particle Physics degree?

    Hi I am just in my first yr doing a physical & life sciences degree, Its a 3 yr course for ordinary degree & 4 yrs for honours degree, but in the second year I have to choose in which direction I am heading in, ie for physics, Chemistry, or Biology. Im choosing physics & then after this...
  24. R

    Particle physics most important physicists

    I was wondering who you thaught is most responicle for todays development of particle physics?
  25. T

    Phase space in particle physics: what is it?

    This should be an easy general question to someone out there. My "quarks and Leptons" book by Halzen and Martin introduces the term "phase space" 50 pages before the index reference, and never seems to define it. What is phase space in this context? Thanks
  26. N

    Particle Physics - Terms I don't Understand

    Hello, I've been doing some extra reading in Physics and there are some certain aspects that I don't understand. I'd appreciate some people explaining to me what they mean. 1.) Wave Function 2.) Intrinsic Angular momentum 3.) Relativistic 4.) The Coupling Constant 5.) Spin is...
  27. N

    Particle Physics: Definitions & Names Explained

    hello everyone. I have a limited background in particle physics (books). I was wondering if someone can help me with definitions of what certain particles are and what their names pertain to. No need to explain basic stuff (protons, neutrons, neutrinos, electrons, photons, positrons, gravitons...
  28. L

    Elementary Particle Physics: Forces, Laws, Fields, Quarks

    I holp someone can help me to write an essary on elementary particle physics covering all the following topics 1.fundamental forcies 2.conservation laws 3.field and quanta 4.quarks i'm sorry about my bad English and very thanks for every one to have see my topics. :smile:
  29. L

    Research project ideas on particle physics

    I'm just about to start a piece of research project on particle physics. Can anyone give me some useful ideas and websites containing useful information? I just want to have a general idea about it. Also interesting things that I can do with Particles. What types of theories are linked to...
  30. J

    Understanding the Standard Model of Particle Physics

    What is the standard model?
  31. M

    Can you help with particle physics?

    I'd really appreciate any help you can give me with the following questions: Use lepton universality and lepton-quark symmetry (ignore quark mixing) to estimate the branching ratios for: a) b -> c + e- + anti-electronneutrino b) tau -> e- + anti-electronneutrino + tauneutrino Surely...
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