CP Violation

by I. I. Bigi, A. I. Sanda

Overview

Why didn't the matter in our Universe annihilate with antimatter immediately after its creation? This book presents theoretical tools necessary to understand this phenomenon. Reflecting the recent explosion of new results, this second edition has been substantially expanded. It introduces charge conjugation, parity and time reversal, before describing the Kobayashi-Maskawa (KM) theory for CP violation and our understanding of CP violation in kaon decays. It reveals how the discovery of B mesons has provided a new laboratory to study CP violation with KM theory predicting large asymmetries, and discusses how these predictions have been confirmed since the first edition of this book. This lead to M. Kobayashi and T. Maskawa receiving the 2008 Nobel Prize for Physics. Later chapters describe the search for a new theory of nature's fundamental dynamics. This book is suitable for researchers in high energy, atomic and nuclear physics and the history and philosophy of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521847940
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2009
Series:	Cambridge Monographs on Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Cosmology Series , #28
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	506
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Ikaros Bigi was born in Munich, Germany. Following undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Universities of Munich, Oxford and Stanford, he has taught and researched at the Max-Planck Institute for Physics, CERN, RWTH Aachen, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Oregon, SLAC and the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. He is a former scholarship student of the Maximilianeum Foundation and Scholarship Foundation of the German People, and has been appointed both a Heisenberg Fellow and a Max-Kade Fellow.

Ichiro Sanda was born in Tokyo, and at the age of 14 accompanied his father who was transferred to the United States on business. After a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Illinois and a PhD from Princeton University, New Jersey, he taught and researched at Columbia University, New York, Fermilab and Rockefeller University, New York. In 1992, after 34 years in the US, he went to Japan as a professor of physics at Nagoya University, Japan. He is now the chairman of the physics department. He is a winner of the 10th Inoue Prize (1993) and the 43rd Nishina Memorial Prize (1997). Both prizes have been awarded for his work in CP violation, and on B physics.

Table of Contents

Foreword; Part I. Basics of CP Violation: 1. Prologue; 2. Prelude: C, P and T in classical dynamics; 3. C, P and T in non-relativistic quantum mechanics; 4. C, P and T in relativistic quantum theories; 5. The arrival of strange particles; 6. Quantum mechanics of neutral particles; Part II. Theory and Experiments: 7. The quest for CP violation in K decays - a marathon; 8. The KM implementation of CP violation; 9. The theory of KL → ππ decays; 10. Paradigmatic discoveries in B physics; 11. Let the drama unfold - B CP phenomenology; 12. Rare K and B decays - almost perfect laboratories; 13. CPT violation - could it be in K and B decays?; 14. CP violation in charm decays - the dark horse; 15. The strong CP problem; Part III. Looking Beyond the Standard Model: 16. Quest for CP violation in the neutrino sector; 17. Possible corrections to the KM ansatz: right-handed currents and non-minimal Higgs dynamics; 18. CP violation without nonperturbative dynamics - top quarks and charged leptons; 19. SUSY - providing shelter for Higgs dynamics; 20. Minimal flavour violation and extra dimensions; 21. Baryogenesis in the universe; Part IV. Summary: 22. Summary and perspectives; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'This is by far the best account I have seen of the 'CP-problem', one of the most intriguing issues in modern physics.' A. Pais

'… could not be more timely … [does] an excellent job in explaining and summarizing on this subject.' Physics Today

'The book is comprehensive … self-contained, original, and thorough in its discussions of CP violation in K and B decays … In summary, this is a very beautiful, thorough, and well-written book ripe with rigor, originality, and insight. I would strongly recommend it to all researchers in the field of elementary particle physics and to anyone else wanting to understand the basis, evolution, and likely future development of this important aspect of modern particle physics … It is a book one will value for years to come.' American Journal of Physics

'The cut of the book is theoretical but is suitable and stimulating for an experimentalist, showing rigour and insight … the reader is shown how to see the CP 'wood' among the 'trees' of phenomenological details, without missing anything of importance.' CERN Courier

'The structure of the book follows an excellent layout … excellently structured and well written by two renowned scientists and eminent experts in the field. … particularly useful for Ph.D. students and young postdocs. …the scientifically outstanding text of the book makes it suitable for everyday reading of experienced researchers, Ph.D. students and other physicists working in the field of experimental or theoretical elementary particle physics … can be best categorised, as 'All you wanted to know about CP violation but you never imagined finding it in a single book.' Congratulations to the authors and many thanks for the excellent writing!' Contemporary Physics

From the Publisher