Astroparticle Physics

by Alessandro De Angelis (Author), Mário João Martins Pimenta (Author)
Introduces both particle and astroparticle physics in a balanced way, at the university level
Discusses the most recent discoveries
Provides information on the latest cosmic ray detectors and the observational implications of new concepts in cosmology
Requires only a basic knowledge of quantum mechanics

From superstring theory to models with extra dimensions to dark matter and dark energy, a range of theoretically stimulating ideas have evolved for physics beyond the standard model.

The book presents high-quality papers presented at a national conference on ‘Advanced Detectors for Nuclear, High Energy and Astroparticle Physics’. The conference was organized to commemorate 100 years of Bose Institute.

This books aims at giving an overview over theoretical and phenomenological aspects of particle astrophysics and particle cosmology. To be of interest for both students and researchers in neighboring fields of physics, it keeps a balance between well established foundations that will not significantly change in the future and a more in-depth treatment of selected subfields in which significant new developments have been taking place recently.

This book, written by researchers who had been professionals in accelerator physics before becoming leaders of groups in astroparticle physics, introduces both fields in a balanced and elementary way, requiring only a basic knowledge of quantum mechanics on the part of the reader.

The book describes the branch of astrophysics in which processes in the universe are investigated with experimental methods known from particle physics experiments. After a historical introduction to the basics of elementary particles, their interactions and the relevant detection techniques are described. The main body of the book concerns cosmic rays. The modern aspects of astroparticle physics are described in a chapter on cosmology. The book provides an orientation in the field of astroparticle physics that many beginners might look for. The physics issues are presented with little mathematics, and the results are illustrated by many diagrams. The reader has a chance to enter this field of astrophysics with a book that closes the gap between expert and popular level.