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This book is aimed at students who have completed a final year undergraduate course on general relativity and supplemented it with additional techniques by individual study or in a taught MSc programme. The additional technical knowledge required involves the Cartan calculus, the tetrad formalism including aspects of the Newman–Penrose formalism, the Ehlers–Sachs theory of null geodesic congruences, and the Petrov classification of gravitational fields. Each chapter could be used as a basis for an advanced undergraduate or early postgraduate project. The topics covered fall under three general headings: Gravitational waves in vacuo and in a cosmological setting, equations of motion with particular emphasis on spinning particles, and black holes. These are not individual applications of the techniques mentioned above. The techniques are available for use in whole or in part (mainly in part) as each situation demands.

This is a conceptual introduction to astrophysical processes, at the advanced-undergraduate level. Topics are developed in more or less their historical order of discovery, but from a modern perspective. The book begins with orbits, gradually building in complexity to chaos, relativistic orbits and gravitational lensing, and eventually a semi-classical treatment of gravitational-wave sources. The second part is about how stars work, including related topics like the mass—radius relations for planets and stellar remnants. The third part is about the expanding universe and its history, the concluding section being about fluctuations in the microwave background. More than 60 exercises range from small conceptual puzzles to numerical solution of differential equations, for example, to find the value of Chan-drasekhar’s limit. An unusual feature of the book is the adaptive choice of units according to context, and unit con-versions, such as to and from Planckian units, are an important thread in the book. Observed phenomena are generally derived from basic principles and processes, with an emphasis—as highlighted in the title—on physical problem solving and approximation throughout.

The fascinating discoveries of the new fields of quantum information, quantum computation, and quantum cryptography are brought to life in this book in a way that is accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers, not just the experts. From a modern perspective, the characteristic feature of quantum mechanics is the existence of strangely counterintuitive correlations between distant events, which can be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced computing power. Schrödinger coined the term “entanglement” to describe these bizarre correlations, which show up in the random outcomes of different measurements on separated quantum systems. Bananaworld – an imaginary island with entangled bananas – is used to discuss sophisticated quantum phenomena without the mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. As far as the conceptual problems of the theory that philosophers worry about are concerned, one might as well talk about bananas rather than quantum states. Nevertheless, the connection with quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but entertaining book, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is about the structure of information, and what we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are different than we thought.

Semiconductor quantum structures are at the core of many photonic devices such as lasers, photodetectors, solar cells etc. To appreciate why they are such a good fit to these devices, we must understand the basic features of their band structure and how they interact with incident light. This book takes the reader from the very basics of III-V semiconductors (some preparation in quantum mechanics and electromagnetism is helpful) and shows how seemingly obscure results such as detailed forms of the Hamiltonian, optical transition strengths, and recombination mechanisms follow. The reader does not need to consult other references to fully understand the material, although a few handpicked sources are listed for those who would like to deepen their knowledge further. Connections to the properties of novel materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides are pointed out, to help prepare the reader for contributing at the forefront of research. The book also supplies a complete, up-to-date database of the band parameters that enter into the calculations, along with tables of optical constants and interpolation schemes for alloys. From these foundations, the book goes on to derive the characteristics of photonic semiconductor devices (with a focus on the mid-infrared) using the same principles of building all concepts from the ground up, explaining all derivations in detail, giving quantitative examples, and laying out dimensional arguments whenever they can help the reader’s understanding. A substantial fraction of the material in this book has not appeared in print anywhere else, including journal publications.

This book is about ideas and themes in physics. A small set of them apply over broad areas of physics, and in that wide reach lies some of the power, beauty, and attraction of the subject. Many metaphors from ordinary language or other disciplines have been adopted by physicists, albeit with a specific and distinct flavour. The selection of topics reflects four decades in research physics. Each chapter, on themes such as dimensions, transformations, symmetries, or maps, begins with simple examples accessible to all; these are then connected to sophisticated realizations in more advanced topics of physics. Equations are used sparingly and only in the beginning examples, and around 70 drawings and figures illustrate the concepts and phenomena discussed. While mathematics is its natural language, physics is mostly about patterns, connections, and relations between objects and phenomena, and it is this aspect that is emphasized throughout. Complementary representations or descriptions, and seeing the world from different points of view are continuing themes. Historical footnotes on great physicists (and others) and their contributions to the subject are provided.

Nonlocality was discovered by John Bell in 1964, in the context of the debates about quantum theory, but is a phenomenon that can be studied in its own right. Its observation proves that measurements are not revealing pre-determined values, falsifying the idea of “local hidden variables” suggested by Einstein and others. One is then forced to make some radical choice: either nature is intrinsically statistical and individual events are unspeakable, or our familiar space-time cannot be the setting for the whole of physics. As phenomena, nonlocality and its consequences will have to be predicted by any future theory, and may possibly play the role of foundational principles in these developments. But nonlocality has found a role in applied physics too: it can be used for “device-independent” certification of the correct functioning of random number generators and other devices. After a self-contained introduction to the topic, this monograph on nonlocality presents the main tools and results following a logical, rather than a chronological, order.

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) will serve as the energy frontier for high-energy physics for the next 20 years. The highlight of the LHC running so far has been the discovery of the Higgs boson, but the LHC programme has also consisted of the measurement of a myriad of other Standard Model processes, as well as searches for Beyond-the-Standard-Model physics, and the discrimination between possible new physics signatures and their Standard Model backgrounds. Essentially all of the physics processes at the LHC depend on quantum chromodynamics, or QCD, in the production, or in the decay stages, or in both. This book has been written as an advanced primer for physics at the LHC, providing a pedagogical guide for the calculation of QCD and Standard Model predictions, using state-of-the-art theoretical frameworks. The predictions are compared to both the legacy data from the Tevatron, as well as the data obtained thus far from the LHC, with intuitive connections between data and theory supplied where possible. The book is written at a level suitable for advanced graduate students, and thus could be used in a graduate course, but is also intended for every physicist interested in physics at the LHC.

Particle physics is the science that pursues the age-old quest for the innermost structure of matter and the fundamental interactions between its constituents. Modern experiments in this field rely increasingly on calorimetry, a detection technique in which the particles of interest are absorbed in the detector. Calorimeters are very intricate instruments, their performance characteristics depend in subtle, sometimes counter-intuitive ways on design details. This book, written by one of the world's foremost experts, is the only comprehensive text on this topic. It provides a fundamental and systematic introduction, in which many intriguing calorimeter features are explained. It also describes the state-of-the-art, both for what concerns the fundamental understanding of calorimetric particle detection and the actual detectors that have been or are being built and operated in experiments. In the last chapter, some landmark scientific discoveries in which calorimetry has played an important role are discussed. This book summarizes and puts in perspective work described in some 900 scientific papers, listed in the bibliography. This second edition emphasizes new developments that have taken place since the the first edition appeared (2000).

In recent years, the old idea that gauge theories and string theories are equivalent has been implemented and developed in various ways, and there are by now various models where the string theory/gauge theory correspondence is at work. One of the most important examples of this correspondence relates Chern-Simons theory, a topological gauge theory in three dimensions which describes knot and three-manifold invariants, to topological string theory, which is deeply related to Gromov-Witten invariants. This has led to some surprising relations between three-manifold geometry and enumerative geometry. This book gives the first presentation of this and other related topics. After an introduction to matrix models and Chern-Simons theory, the book describes in detail the topological string theories that correspond to these gauge theories and develops the mathematical implications of this duality for the enumerative geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds and knot theory.

This book is the first to make chi-squared model testing, one of the data analysis methods used to discover the Higgs boson and gravitational waves, accessible to undergraduate students in introductory physics laboratory courses. By including uncertainties in the curve fitting, chi-squared data analysis improves on the centuries old ordinary least squares and linear regression methods and combines best fit parameter estimation and model testing in one method. A toolkit of essential statistical and experimental concepts is developed from the ground up with novel features to interest even those familiar with the material. The presentation of one- and two-parameter chi-squared model testing, requiring only elementary probability and algebra, is followed by case studies that apply the methods to simple introductory physics lab experiments. More challenging topics, requiring calculus, are addressed in an advanced topics chapter. This self-contained and student-friendly introduction to chi-squared analysis and model testing includes a glossary, end-of-chapter problems with complete solutions, and software scripts written in several popular programming languages, that the reader can use for chi-squared model testing. In addition to introductory physics lab students, this accessible introduction to chi-squared analysis and model testing will be of interest to all who need to learn chi-squared model testing, e.g. beginning researchers in astrophysics and particle physics, beginners in data science, and lab students in other experimental sciences.

This book introduces Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Topics include the geometric formulation of special relativity, the principle of equivalence, the Einstein field equation and its spherical solution, and black holes, as well as cosmology. The subject is presented with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus (although, for those wishing to have a glimpse at the proper tensor formulation of Einstein’s field equation, this is presented in a final chapter). The reader first learns the physics of the equivalence principle and how it inspired Einstein’s idea of curved spacetime as the gravitational field. At the mathematically more accessible level of a metric description of a warped space, the reader can already study many interesting phenomena, such as gravitational time dilation, GPS operation, light deflection, precession of Mercury’s perihelion, and black holes. Many modern topics in cosmology are discussed: from primordial inflation and the cosmic microwave background, to the dark energy that propels an accelerating universe.

This book is a historical account of how natural philosophers and scientists have endeavoured to understand the universe at large, first in a mythical and later in a scientific context. Starting with the creation stories of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the book covers all the major events in theoretical and observational cosmology, from Aristotle's cosmos over the Copernican revolution to the discovery of the accelerating universe in the late 1990s. The kind of cosmology it describes and analyses focuses on the physical and astronomical aspects, but these cannot always be separated from aspects of a philosophical and theological nature. The book presents cosmology as a subject including scientific as well as non-scientific dimensions, and tells the story of how it developed into a true science of the heavens. Contrary to most other books on the history of cosmology, it offers an integrated account of the development with emphasis on the modern Einsteinian and post-Einsteinian period. In addition, it pays attention not only to mainstream developments, but also to theories of the universe that are today considered to be blind alleys. Starting in the pre-literary era, the book carries the story of mankind's quest of understanding the universe onwards to the early years of the 21st century.

An understanding of thermal physics is crucial to much of modern physics, chemistry, and engineering. This book provides a modern introduction to the main principles that are foundational to thermal physics, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics. The key concepts are carefully presented in a clear way, and new ideas are illustrated with worked examples as well as a description of the historical background to their discovery. Applications are presented to subjects as diverse as stellar astrophysics, information and communication theory, condensed matter physics, and climate change. Each chapter concludes with detailed exercises. This second edition of the text maintains the structure and style of the first edition but extends its coverage of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics to include several new topics, including osmosis, diffusion problems, Bayes theorem, radiative transfer, the Ising model, and Monte Carlo methods. New examples and exercises have been added throughout.

This is a textbook of elementary particle physics whose goal is to explain the Standard Model of particle interactions. Part I introduces the basic concepts governing high-energy particle physics: elements of relativity and quantum field theory, the quark model of hadrons, methods for detection and measurement of elementary particles, methods for calculating predictions for observable quantitites. Part II builds up our understanding of the strong interaction from the key experiments to the formulation of Quantum Chromodynamics and its application to the description of evetns at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Part III build up our understanding of the weak interaction from the key experiments to the formulation of spontaneously broken gauge theories. It then describes the tests and extensions of this theory, including the precision study of the W and Z bosons, CP violation, neutrino mass, and the Higgs boson.

The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a brief account of modern physics and astronomy presented in a broad historical and cultural context. The book is attractively illustrated and aimed at the general reader. Part I explores the laws of physics including general relativity, the structure of matter, quantum mechanics and the Standard Model of particle physics. It discusses recent discoveries such as gravitational waves and the project to construct LISA, a space-based gravitational wave detector, as well as unresolved issues such as the nature of dark matter. Part II begins by considering cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole and how we arrived at the theory of the Big Bang and the expanding universe. It looks at the remarkable objects within the universe such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, and considers the expected discoveries from new telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, and the Event Horizon Telescope, currently aiming to image the supermassive black hole at the galactic centre. Part III considers the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, from the speculations of science fiction authors to the ongoing search for alien civilizations known as SETI. Recent developments are discussed: space probes to the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn; the discovery of planets in other star systems; the citizen science project SETI@Home; Breakthrough Starshot, the project to develop technologies to send spacecraft to the stars. It also discusses the Fermi paradox which argues that we might actually be alone in the cosmos

This book seeks to answer the question “What explains CPT invariance and the spin–statistics connection (SSC)?” These properties play foundational roles in relativistic quantum field theories (RQFTs), are supported by high-precision experiments, and figure into explanations of a wide range of phenomena, from antimatter, to the periodic table of the elements, to superconductors and superfluids. They can be derived in RQFTs by means of the famous CPT and spin–statistics theorems; but these theorems cannot be said to explain these properties, at least under standard philosophical accounts of scientific explanation. This is because there are multiple, in some cases incompatible, ways of deriving these theorems, and, secondly, because the theorems fail for the types of theories that underwrite the empirical evidence: non-relativistic quantum theories, and realistic interacting RQFTs. The goal of this book is to work toward an understanding of CPT invariance and the SSC by first providing an analysis of the necessary and sufficient conditions for these properties, and second by advocating a particular account of explanation appropriate for this context. Under this account, the explanatory work is done in part by an appeal to intertheoretic relations, and in part by means of a derivation, within a more fundamental theory, of a property expressed in a less fundamental theory.

This volume gathers the lectures notes of Session CVII of the Les Houches summer school of Physics, entitled “Current trends in Atomic Physics”. The school took place in July 2016 and had the goal to give the participants a broad overview of Atomic Physics as a whole, and in particular its connections to other areas of physics, such as condensed-matter and high-energy physics. The book comprises twelve chapters corresponding to lectures delivered at the school.

The book provides a self-contained account of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) in high energy physics. It covers the classic results that lead to the quark-parton model of hadrons and the establishment of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), through to the new vistas in the subject opened up by the electron-proton collider HERA. The extraction of parton momentum distribution functions, a key input for physics at hadron colliders such as the Tevatron and Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is described in detail. The challenges of the HERA data at low-x are described, and possible explanations in terms of gluon dynamics outlined. Other chapters cover: jet production at large momentum transfer and the determination of the strong coupling constant; electroweak probes at very high momentum transfers; the extension of deep inelastic techniques to include hadronic probes; a summary of fully polarised inelastic scattering and the spin structure of the nucleon; and a brief account of methods for searching for signals ‘beyond the standard model’.

Effective field theory (EFT) is a general method for describing quantum systems with multiple-length scales in a tractable fashion. It allows us to perform precise calculations in established models (such as the standard models of particle physics and cosmology), as well as to concisely parametrize possible effects from physics beyond the standard models. EFTs have become key tools in the theoretical analysis of particle physics experiments and cosmological observations, despite being absent from many textbooks. This volume aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to many of the EFTs in use today, and covers topics that include large-scale structure, WIMPs, dark matter, heavy quark effective theory, flavour physics, soft-collinear effective theory, and more.

Einstein’s doctoral thesis and his Brownian motion paper were decisive contributions to our understanding of matter as composed of molecules and atoms. Einstein was one of the founding fathers of quantum theory: his photon proposal through the investigation of blackbody radiation, his quantum theory of specific heat, his calculation of radiation fluctuation giving the first statement of wave–particle duality, his introduction of probability in the description of quantum radiative transitions, and finally quantum statistics and Bose–Einstein condensation. Einstein’s special theory of relativity gave us the famous relation E = mc ² and the new kinematics leading to the idea of 4D spacetime as the arena in which physical events take place. Einstein’s geometric theory of gravity, general relativity, extends Newton’s theory to time-dependent and strong gravitational fields. It laid the groundwork for the study of black holes and cosmology. This is a physics book with material presented in a historical context. Also, we do not stop at Einstein’s discovery, but carry the discussion onto some of the later advances: Bell’s theorem, quantum field theory, gauge theories, and Kaluza–Klein unification in a spacetime with an extra spatial dimension.