The goal of this essay is to discuss the future of discovery in particle physics. Its primary motivation is the 2019 European Strategy update, which aims to determine the future experimental and theoretical priorities for particle physics. A key question is to understand what the standard theory (Standard Model) of particle physics really is, which the author argues has been a foggy notion for several decades which he clarifies. It then is to decide what motivated beyond the Standard Model theories are to be targeted by experiment. This book brightly exposes these theories, and puts current particle physics research into its historical context and points the way toward future work.

A unique and comprehensive presentation on modern particle physics which stores the background knowledge on the big open questions beyond the standard model, as the existence of the Higgs-boson, or the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

The book gives a quite complete and up-to-date picture of the Standard Theory with an historical perspective, with a collection of articles written by some of the protagonists of present particle physics. The theoretical developments are described together with the most up-to-date experimental tests, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the measurement of its mass as well as the most precise measurements of the top mass, giving the reader a complete description of our present understanding of particle physics.

'The editors make a good point in claiming the time has come to upgrade the Standard Model into the ‘Standard Theory’ of particle physics, and I think this book deserves a place in the bookshelves of a broad community, from the scientists and engineers who contributed to the progress of high-energy physics to younger physicists, eager to learn and enjoy the corresponding inside stories.'Carlos LourençoCERN CourierThe book gives a quite complete and up-to-date picture of the Standard Theory with an historical perspective, with a collection of articles written by some of the protagonists of present particle physics. The theoretical developments are described together with the most up-to-date experimental tests, including the discovery of the Higgs Boson and the measurement of its mass as well as the most precise measurements of the top mass, giving the reader a complete description of our present understanding of particle physics.

Part of the Physics in a New Era series of assessments of the various branches of the field, Elementary-Particle Physics reviews progress in the field over the past 10 years and recommends actions needed to address the key questions that remain unanswered. It explains in simple terms the present picture of how matter is constructed. As physicists have probed ever deeper into the structure of matter, they have begun to explore one of the most fundamental questions that one can ask about the universe: What gives matter its mass? A new international accelerator to be built at the European laboratory CERN will begin to explore some of the mechanisms proposed to give matter its heft. The committee recommends full U.S. participation in this project as well as various other experiments and studies to be carried out now and in the longer term.

Part of the Physics in a New Era series of assessments of the various branches of the field, Elementary-Particle Physics reviews progress in the field over the past 10 years and recommends actions needed to address the key questions that remain unanswered. It explains in simple terms the present picture of how matter is constructed. As physicists have probed ever deeper into the structure of matter, they have begun to explore one of the most fundamental questions that one can ask about the universe: What gives matter its mass? A new international accelerator to be built at the European laboratory CERN will begin to explore some of the mechanisms proposed to give matter its heft. The committee recommends full U.S. participation in this project as well as various other experiments and studies to be carried out now and in the longer term.