In the first fractions of a second after the Big Bang lingers a question at the heart of our very existence: why does the universe contain matter but almost no antimatter? The laws of physics tell us that equal amounts of matter and antimatter were produced in the early universe--but then, something odd happened. Matter won out over antimatter; had it not, the universe today would be dark and barren. But how and when did this occur? Helen Quinn and Yossi Nir guide readers into the very heart of this mystery--and along the way offer an exhilarating grand tour of cutting-edge physics. They explain both the history of antimatter and recent advances in particle physics and cosmology. And they discuss the enormous, high-precision experiments that particle physicists are undertaking to test the laws of physics at their most fundamental levels--and how their results reveal tantalizing new possibilities for solving this puzzle at the heart of the cosmos. The Mystery of the Missing Antimatter is at once a history of ideas and an exploration of modern science and the frontiers of human knowledge. This exciting, accessible book reveals how the interplay of theory and experimentation advances our understanding and redefines the questions we ask about our universe.
Author(s): Helen R. Quinn, Yossi Nir
Series: Science Essentials
Publisher: PUP
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 293
Tags: Физика;Популярная физика;
Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Ackonwledgments......Page 12
1. Prelude: The Mystery of the Missing Antimatter......Page 16
Universal Laws......Page 22
Hubble and the Expanding Universe......Page 23
Red-shifts: Evidence for an Expanding Universe......Page 27
Numbers Large and Small......Page 32
What Do We Mean by "Universe"?......Page 34
Running the Clock Forward: Radiation......Page 36
Running the Clock Forward: Dark Matter......Page 41
Running the Clock Forward: Light Nuclei......Page 44
Running the Clock Forward: Matter and Antimatter......Page 47
What Is Matter?......Page 51
Dirac Introduces Antimatter......Page 57
Experiments Confirm That Antimatter Exists......Page 60
Radioactive Decays of Nuclei......Page 63
Pauli: The Beta Decay Puzzle......Page 66
Fermi: The Theory of Neutrinos Develops......Page 68
Cowan and Reines: Neutrinos Detected......Page 70
Yukawa and the Pi-Meson......Page 72
Strange Mesons, Strange Quantum Concepts......Page 76
What Physicists Mean by the Term Symmetry......Page 78
A Gedanken Experiment......Page 79
The Actual Experiment......Page 82
Another Gedanken Experiment......Page 88
Cronin and Fitch: Matter and Antimatter Do Not Follow the Laws......Page 90
Pauli's Other Letter: Initial Conditions on the Universe......Page 95
Sakharov: The Conditions Needed to Develop an Imbalance......Page 99
Cosmology with Sakharov's Conditions Met: Baryogenesis......Page 103
Quarks......Page 106
Why Don't We See the Quarks?......Page 111
What about Dark Matter?......Page 115
The Missing Charm, the Surprising Tau......Page 116
The Standard Model: Particles and Interactions......Page 122
Stored Energy, Forces, and Energy Conservation......Page 126
Force Fields Permeating Space......Page 129
Field Theory and the Energy Function......Page 131
Symmetries as Answers to the Question "Why?"......Page 136
Symmetries and Conservation Laws......Page 138
Space-Time Symmetries......Page 139
Gauge Symmetries......Page 141
Discrete Symmetries......Page 143
Baryon and Lepton Number Conservation?......Page 145
The Symmetry behind the Electromagnetic Interaction......Page 147
The Symmetry behind the Strong Interaction......Page 149
The Symmetry behind the Weak Interaction......Page 152
The Puzzle of Particle Masses......Page 155
How Do We Describe Nothing?......Page 161
At Last, CP Violated in the Standard Model......Page 168
Running the Clock Forward: The Standard Model......Page 174
Now What?......Page 178
Accelerators......Page 183
Detectors......Page 187
Data Handling and Analysis......Page 192
How Projects Develop......Page 193
Where Are We Now?......Page 195
Testing the Standard Model in B-Meson Decays......Page 197
Oddone: How to Build B Factories?......Page 199
Running the B Factories: The First Test......Page 205
Why Are We Never Satisfied?......Page 209
Grand Unified Theories......Page 210
Supersymmetry......Page 216
Way beyond the Standard Model......Page 219
Davis, Bahcall, Koshiba: Solar Neutrinos......Page 221
Quantum Neutrino Properties......Page 229
Some Things We Know......Page 237
Some Things We Speculate About......Page 240
Fitting It All Together......Page 242
21. Finale......Page 246
Perspective......Page 248
Relevant Nineteenth-Century Developments......Page 249
1900–1930: Development of Quantum Ideas, Beginnings of Scientific Cosmology......Page 253
1930–1950: New Particles, New Ideas......Page 260
1930–1960s: The Advent of Accelerator Experiments—The Particle Explosion; Implications of Expanding Universe Explored......Page 264
1964–1973: Formulation of the Modern View of Particles and the Universe......Page 271
Two Standard Models Emerge—Particles and Cosmology......Page 278
B......Page 288
F......Page 289
L......Page 290
Q......Page 291
T......Page 292
Z......Page 293
