Antimatter: What It Is and Why It's Important in Physics and Everyday Life

by Beatriz Gato-Rivera

Overview

Antimatter is one of the most fascinating aspects of Particle Physics, and matter-antimatter annihilation the most energetic process in the universe. If they existed, everyday objects made of antimatter would look exactly like those made of ordinary matter, as would antimatter stars. We live surrounded by antimatter, since showers of matter and antimatter particles fall incessantly on the Earth's surface, some of them penetrating our buildings. Furthermore, many things around us - bananas, for example - actually emit antielectrons.

This book first introduces the essentials of particle physics and the nature of particles and antiparticles. It describes the discovery of antimatter particles and explains how they are produced, where they are found, and how antistars could be spotted; it also introduces cosmic rays, particle accelerators, dark matter, dark energy and nuclear reactions in stars. The enigma of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in theUniverse is discussed as are the very real applications of antimatter in hospitals, in industry and in cutting-edge research and technology, Non-specialist readers will find here a wealth of fascinating and accessible information to deepen their appreciation of antimatter.​

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030677909
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	04/10/2021
Edition description:	1st ed. 2021
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Beatriz Gato Rivera, also known as B. Gato, is a Staff Scientist at the ‘Instituto de Física Fundamental’ (IFF, Madrid, Spain) of the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council). After finishing her Ph.D. on the topic of Supergravity, she spent three years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, USA) and another three years at CERN (Switzerland), working on String Theory. She has been the Principal Investigator of four research projects. In addition, at the IFF she was the head of the department of ‘Particle Physics and Cosmology’ for four years, and coordinator of the ‘Mathematical Physics’ group from 2008 until 2019. Her scientific interests are centered on Mathematical Physics, Particle Physics, Gravitation, and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. In the last ten years she has also been involved in outreach activities, especially public talks, and in 2018 she published the book Antimateria in CSIC's collection ‘¿Que sabemos de?’. This was thebasis for the much extended and updated English version now available as the present volume “Antimatter”.

Table of Contents

Matter versus Antimatter.- Discovering Antimatter.- Cosmic Rays.- Particle Accelerators.- Experiments with Antiatoms.- Matter - Antimatter Asymmetry.- Medical and Technological Applications of Antimatter.- Epilogue.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book is an extraordinary exposition of the current state of the art on antimatter, brilliantly written by Beatriz Gato-Rivera. It is fascinating, captivating, rigorous and, at the same time, accessible to a broad audience, so It must be considered, without a doubt, one of the best popular science books written in recent years.” (Prof. Jose Gomez Galan, University of Extremadura, Spain and Ana G. Méndez University, PR, USA)

“A very enjoyable book to read about antimatter that seeks to unravel all its mysteries. A documented and very up-to-date set-up on this very interesting topic.” (Prof. Emilio Elizalde, Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain)

“An enjoyful tour de force through the science of antimatter, spiced up with countless historical facts and anecdotes.” (Prof. Wolfgang Lerche, Theory Division at CERN)

“The mysterious world of antimatter appears often more linked to science fiction than science itself. The book by Beatriz Gato-Rivera manages to convince us of the opposite, describing in a pleasant and rigorous way that new world, from its discovery to its amazing applications, while keeping at any time the charm that antimatter arouses in the general public.” (Prof. Manuel Asorey, Centro de Astropartículas y Física de Altas Energías, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain)

“''Antimatter'' by Beatriz Gato-Rivera is an excellent, rigorous and easily readable introduction to the subject for the profane and an ideal dive into the field for those already initiated looking for a broader scope both in the realm of cosmology and in modern experimental technologies.” (Prof. Pilar Ruiz-Lapuente, Instituto de Fisica Fundamental, CSIC Madrid, Spain)

“I really enjoyed reading this beautiful book "Antimatter". It is a text that I will recommend to young and not so young researchers alike as well as to any person interested in scientific matters.” (Prof. Piergiorgio Picozza, University of Rome, Leader of the PAMELA mission)

“A masterful exposition of one of the deepest and most tantalizing discoveries in the history of physics - inevitable consequence of quantum mechanics and relativity. A captivating presentation accessible to anyone interested in learning about the fabric of our universe.” (Prof. Luis Alvarez-Gaume, State University of New York)