Understanding the universe. From quarks to the cosmos (Q2880708)

This is a popular book which illustrates the landscape of the modern particle physics to a broad audience. Despite the educational nature of this book, it is never trivial or simplistic. The author faces complex topics in a very simple and clever way without using mathematics but by simple (and suitable) analogies. All modern aspects of fundamental physics are dealt. The reading is intriguing and very flowing and, sometimes, very entertaining. The book is peppered with amusing anecdotes that make reading smoother and funny. The author is an experienced experimentalist working on experiment D0 at Fermilab, but he has also a deep knowledge of theoretical physics. For this reason, both experimental and theoretical sides are illustrated with great awareness. The great merit of the author is that he clearly separates known facts from speculations (this is not always true in popular books!).NEWLINENEWLINEIn Chapters 1 and 2 a wide historical introduction is presented, from early history to nowadays. In particular, in Chapter 2 the author shows how the discoveries of the last two centuries led to the modern view of physics. These chapters are full of hitherto unknown episodes to the wider audience. These chapters are a bright explanation of how science proceeds in its way.NEWLINENEWLINEChapters 3 and 4 illustrate the state-of-the-art of modern particle physics. Chapter 3 is an overview on the elementary fermions (quarks and leptons), on how quarks (the elementary constituents of mesons and barions) have been discovered (in particular the elusive ``top'' quark) and how both quarks and leptons are organized into three families. Chapter 4 explains the ``glues'' that hold matter tighter, i.e., the fundamental forces of nature. In this chapter the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces are illustrated (in modern term of exchange of force carriers like photons, gluons and W and Z bosons), and how these forces are framed in a general theory called ``standard model''.NEWLINENEWLINEChapter 5 is devoted to the desperate hunt for the last missing piece (at the time of writing!) of standard model: the Higgs boson. This particle is the physical manifestation of a field pervading the space which is responsible for the symmetry breaking in the standard model and for the non-vanishing masses of all particles (except the photon). The mechanism of symmetry breaking and mass generation is clearly explained with clear analogies. The experimental efforts for its discovery and the expected ``imprints'' of its existence are reviewed (is worth mentioning that in the meanwhile the Higgs boson has been discovered at LHC through the techniques described in the book).NEWLINENEWLINEA complete review of the instruments for particle physics discoveries (particle accelerators and detectors) is illustrated in Chapter 6. This review is often missing in many popular books that merely illustrate the discoveries but not the tools to get to them.NEWLINENEWLINEChapter 7 and 8 are devoted to the ``mysteries'' still open in particle physics. In Chapter 7 are described the near ``frontiers'' of particle physics: neutrino oscillations (and their masses) and the CP asymmetry. Conversely, Chapter 8 introduces to the fascinating world of new theories: super-symmetries (SUSY), grand unification theories, extra dimensions and, hopefully, the theory of everything: the string theory. In this chapter the reason why it is necessary to extend our present vision of the world is clearly explained.NEWLINENEWLINEChapter 9 is devoted to the cosmology and the mysteries of the universe and the interplay with particle physics. It is shown that the universe is pervaded by two enigmatic entities, the dark matter and the dark energy. It is explained how the lightest SUSY particle can be a natural candidate for the first entity. The first instants of the universe are then reviewed. In this chapter is shown how accelerator physics can shed light on cosmology and the big bang (and vice-versa).NEWLINENEWLINEFinally, chapter 10 is a thought about the purpose of science and knowledge.NEWLINENEWLINESix appendices complement the book with some technical arguments for the most experienced readers.NEWLINENEWLINEThis book is a masterpiece of scientific disclosure. I recommend its reading for those people who want to delve into the wonders of modern physics.