A Modern Primer in Particle and Nuclear Physics

Abstract

Abstract A Modern Primer in Particle and Nuclear Physics introduces the fundamentals of the field at a level amenable to undergraduate students. The textbook provides an ideal entry point and presents the modern concepts, theories, and experiments that explain the elementary constituents and basic forces of the Universe. The author does not follow the historical development of the field and all subjects are introduced at the state-of-the-art. We deal with the most basic questions (“what is an elementary particle”) gradually reaching highly sophisticated developments (Quantum Chromodynamics and its Nuclear Physics applications, the Higgs boson, the first observation of Gravitational Waves, etc.). New concepts are introduced softly and clarified by intuitive explanations, examples, and exercises. The only prerequisites are a basic knowledge of Special Relativity and non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics. Both are briefly recalled in the Appendices. This textbook shows the inbred unity of the discipline. Each theory is mathematically proven at the undergraduate level and supported by detailed descriptions of the experiments that put the theory on solid ground. Particle physics is strongly linked to Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics, and Gravitation by concrete examples, which include the latest findings in these fields. We want the students to have a grand view of the forest before choosing their tree. Choices will come later—in a natural way—following their inclinations, inspiration, and curiosity.