This volume brings together the latest developments within a wide spectrum of topics in particle physics. Covering both theoretical and experimental aspects, areas such as neutrino and astroparticle physics, tests of the Standard Model and beyond, heavy quark physics, non-perturbative QCD, quantum gravity effects and cosmology, physics at the future accelerators, etc. are discussed.

It is generally felt in the cosmology and particle astrophysics community that we have just entered an era which later can only be looked back upon as a golden age. Thanks to the rapid technical development, with powerful new telescopes and other detectors taken into operation at an impressive rate, and the accompanying advancement of theoretical ideas, the picture of the past, present and future Universe is getting ever clearer. Some of the most exciting new findings and expected future developments are discussed in this invaluable volume.The topics covered include the physics of the early Universe and ultra-high energy processes. Emphasis is also put on neutrino physics and astrophysics, with the evidence for non-zero neutrino masses emerging from both solar neutrinos and atmospheric neutrinos covered in great depth. Another field with interesting new results concerns the basic cosmological parameters, where both traditional methods and the potential of new ones, like deep supernova surveys and acoustic peak detections in the cosmic microwave background, are thoroughly discussed. Various aspects of the dark matter problem, such as gravitational lensing estimates of galaxy masses, cluster evolution and hot cluster electron distortions of the thermal microwave background spectrum, are also discussed, as are particle physics candidates of dark matter and methods to detect them. Cosmic rays of matter and antimatter are included as a topic, and so is the problem of the enigmatic dark energy of the vacuum.

At least eighty percent of the mass of the universe consists of some material which, unlike ordinary matter, neither emits nor absorbs light. This book collects key papers related to the discovery of this astonishing fact and its profound implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and the physics of elementary particles. The book focuses on the likely possibility that the dark matter is composed of an as yet undiscovered elementary particle, and examines the boundaries of our present knowledge of the properties such a particle must possess.

This is a marvellously engaging tour covering the whole of modern science, from transgenic crops to quantum tangles. Written by one of the most experienced and well-known names in science writing, it is also assuredly reliable science. Although arranged for convenience and quick reference as a collection of topics in alphabetical order, it is very different from any conventional encyclopedia. Each topic tells a story, making the book eminently browsable. Packed with information, yet carrying its immense learning lightly, this is a book that would appeal to anyone with the slightest interest in how the world works.

The Early Universe has become the standard reference on forefront topics in cosmology, particularly to the early history of the Universe. Subjects covered include primordial nubleosynthesis, baryogenesis, phases transitions, inflation, dark matter, and galaxy formation, relics such as axions, neutrinos and monopoles, and speculations about the Universe at the Planck time. The book includes more than ninety figures as well as a five-page update discussing recent developments such as the COBE results.

This volume of important papers by one the world's leading astrophysicists provides a sweeping survey of the incisive and exciting applications of nuclear and particle physics to a wide range of problems in astrophysics and cosmology.The prime focus of the book is on Big Bang cosmology and the role of primordial nucleosynthesis in establishing the modern consensus on the Big Bang. This leads into the connection of cosmology to particle physics and the constraints put on various elementary particles by astrophysical arguments. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis has also led to the argument for nonbaryonic dark matter and is thus related to the major problem in physical cosmology today, namely, structure formation. The nuclear-particle interface with astrophysics also extends to the other topics of major interest such as the age of the universe, cosmic rays, supernovae, and solar neutrinos, each of which will be discussed in some detail. Each section contains historical papers, current papers, and frequently a popular article on the subject which provides an overview of the topic.This volume is testimony to the success of the integration of nuclear and particle physics with astrophysics and cosmology, and to the ingenuity of the work in this area which has earned the author numerous prestigious awards. The book, which is accessible to beginning graduate students, should be of particular interest to researchers and students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and gravitation, and also in high energy and nuclear physics.

Following the discovery of the Higgs boson, Frank Close has produced this major revision to his classic and compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe.