Reminiscences a journey through particle physics - Melissinos, Adrian C., (Adrian Constantin) (World Scientific, 2013)
Includes bibliographical references and index
1. Level crossing -- 2. Strange particles. The Rochester emulsion group. The low energy [symbol] -- p interaction. Analysis of bubble chamber film at Rochester. The ratio of K+/K- lifetime; a test of CPT invariance. K+/K- backward scattering and [symbol]p annihilations -- 3. Deep inelastic scattering. Muon-proton scattering. The sequel: [symbol] -- p 2 -- 4. The rising pp total cross section. The US-USSR gas jet experiment. The flying wire -- 5. Dimuons and trimuons. The landscape. The Rochester-Brookhaven collaboration. The European muon collaboration -- 6. The Cornell B-factory -- 7. Fourteen orders of magnitude -- 8. Axions. What are axions. Microwave search for cosmic axions. Birefringence of the vacuum. Shining light through walls -- 9. Lasers. The laboratory for laser energetics. Radial compression of electromagnetic fields. Visitor at LEP -- 10. Matter from light. Nonlinear QED. The experiment and its logistics. Results of the experiment. Breakdown of the vacuum by laser fields -- 11. Photoinjectors. How it all started. The A0 photoinjector and the drive laser. The big blunder. Electro-optic sampling -- 12. The earth tides. Gravitational wave laser interferometers. The free-spectral-range (fsr) channel. Tidal frequency shift. The isotropy of space
A personal recount in areas of particle physics and related fields as a research physicist for over 50 years, Adrian Melissinos' insights into the ways that general research was carried out, as well as the evolution of particle physics from 1958 to 2008 will prove valuable to science history enthusiasts, as well as particle physicists. Be it conventional accelerator experiments, the use of microwave techniques in search of cosmic axions, or taking advantage of high power lasers to observe light-by-light scattering, the excitement of searching for something new in the face of failures and then successes is enriching, and the collaboration with gifted and outstanding colleagues and students proves insightful. A hybrid of personal reminiscences and a professional journey, readers get to relive the joy and excitement of researching and teaching in small groups during those early years while gaining a partial historical perspective of particle physics since 1958 - all in Reminiscences: A Journey through Particle Physics