The toolbox for subnuclear physics.

How the Lorentz transformations can be found from basic properties of space-time, independently of electromagnetism, as in the usual presentations. Lorentz-invariance is a common property of all the fundamental interactions.

Clear discussion of the fundamental concepts of energy, momentum and mass; of their relations; and of their transformations between reference systems, in particular the laboratory and centre of mass frames.

The sources of high-energy particles, cosmic rays and the different types of accelerators. The progress of our knowledge is fully linked to the experimental ‘art’ of detector design and development. Detectors are made of matter, solid or liquid, or gaseous. The interactions of charged and neutral high-energy particles with matter are described. The principal types of detector and the principles of their operation are introduced.

A good knowledge of special relativity and quantum mechanics is essential for studying particle physics. Even if the reader is assumed to be already familiar with these two theories, a brief review of special relativity is given in this chapter with emphasis on the covariant and contravariant notations, which may be less well mastered but are very useful in particle physics. Important aspects of quantum mechanics for particle physics, such as the angular momentum, are also addressed.

Chapter 1 contains the problem statements of the 150 problems in special relativity theory. The chapter is divided into nine sections with problems organized by different topics defined by the keywords in the section headings.

In this chapter we extend our review of mechanics to include Einstein’s special theory of relativity. We will see that our previous Newtonian framework is a useful description of the mechanical world only when speeds are much less than that of light. We also use this chapter to introduce index notation and general technical tools that will help us throughout the rest of the book. Then, in the following chapter, we will show how relativity provides insights for an entirely different formulation of mechanics -- the so-called variational principle.