A Modern Primer in Particle and Nuclear Physics

iA Modern Primer in Particle and Nuclear Physics/i provides a cohesive introduction to the fundamentals of the field and is designed to be accessible 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. Starting with the basic concepts and definitions, the textbook goes on to cover core developments, such as the links between quantum chromodynamics and nuclear physics, the Higgs Boson, and the first observation of gravitational waves. New concepts are introduced gradually and clarified by intuitive explanations, exercises, and concrete examples linking particle physics to nuclear physics, astrophysics, and gravitation. The book also includes appendices on special relativity and non-relativistic quantum mechanics for those needing a basic grounding in these areas. The text is an expert guide for undergraduate physics students wanting to expand their knowledge, and also provides fascinating insights to graduate students, junior researchers, and physics enthusiasts.

1 - Setting the scene
2 - Scattering and decay
3 - Measurements in particle physics
4 - Accelerators and colliders
5 - Symmetries and antimatter
6 - Electromagnetic interactions
7 - The modern theory of strong interactions
8 - Flavor symmetries and the quark models
9 - From QCD to nuclear physics
10 - Weak interactions
11 - Radioactivity and cosmic engines
12 - The electroweak theory
13 - At the forefront of the Standard Model

Francesco Terranova has been working in collider and neutrino physics for 25 years giving significant contributions to the DELPHI experiment at LEP (direct evidence of triple gauge couplings), the construction and data analysis of OPERA (first observation of tau neutrino appearance in a long-baseline experiment), and CUORE (search for neutrinoless double-beta decay with bolometers). In 2015, he proposed the concept of 'monitored neutrino beam' and is currently Co-Spokesperson of the CERN NP06/ENUBET experiment. Since 2018 he has worked in DUNE, the US flagship project in neutrino physics, which studies CP violation in neutrinos and multi-messenger physics.