A graduate-level description of how the theory of electroweak interactions, or so-called "Standard Model" unifies the weak and electromagnetic forces of nature in high energy physics.

This volume deals with the electroweak interactions at low and high energies. The results of the collider experiments are discussed, and the low energy experiments with complications for astrophysics are considered. Also, theoretical developments are presented to highlight the impact of forthcoming experiments and to find new directions of study.

This up-to-date volume reviews the recent contributions of electron-positron colliders to the precision test of the electroweak Standard Model. In particular, it contains a short summary of the measurements at the Z resonance and gives an overview of the electroweak processes above the Z. Subsequently, the measurement of the W mass at LEP is discussed in detail. The implications for the precision test of the Standard Model are presented, giving the status of the global electroweak fit before the startup of Large Hadron Collider. The final chapters give an outlook on the electroweak physics at a future linear collider. The book also features many illustrations and tables. Readers obtain a coherent overview of the results of 20 years of electroweak physics conducted at electron-positron colliders.

The book discusses the recent experimental results obtained at the LHC that involve electroweak bosons. The results are placed into an appropriate theoretical and historical context. The work pays special attention to the rising subject of hadronically decaying bosons with high boosts, documenting the state-of-the-art identification techniques and highlighting typical results. The text is not limited to electroweak physics in the strict sense, but also discusses the use of electroweak vector-bosons as tool in the study of other subjects in particle physics, such as determinations of the proton structure or the search for new exotic particles. The book is particularly well suited for graduate students, starting their thesis work on topics that involve electroweak bosons, as the book provides a comprehensive description of phenomena observable at current accelerators as well as a summary of the most relevant experimental techniques.

The implications of the latest results from high energy experiments as well as non-accelerator experiments are discussed in this proceedings. Emphasis is given to neutrino physics, tests of the standard electroweak theory, and its extensions. Perspectives for the physics of the new decade are also considered.

During more than 10 years, from 1989 until 2000, the LEP accelerator and the four LEP experiments, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, have taken data for a large amount of measurements at the frontier of particle physics. The main outcome is a thorough and successful test of the Standard Model of electroweak interactions. Mass and width of the Z and W bosons were measured precisely, as well as the Z and photon couplings to fermions and the couplings among gauge bosons. The rst part of this work will describe the most important physics results of the LEP experiments. Emphasis is put on the properties of the W boson, which was my main research eld at LEP. Especially the precise determination of its mass and its couplings to the other gauge bosons will be described. Details on physics effects like Colour Reconnection and Bose-Einstein Correlations in W-pair events shall be discussed as well. A conclusive summary of the current electroweak measurements, including low-energy results, as the pillars of possible future ndings will be given. The important contributions from Tevatron, like the measurement of the top quark and W mass, will round up the present day picture of electroweak particle physics. This is an open access book.

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Sintra, Portugal, March 23-25, 1994

The electroweak theory unifies two basic forces of nature: the weak force and electromagnetism. This 2007 book is a concise introduction to the structure of the electroweak theory and its applications. It describes the structure and properties of field theories with global and local symmetries, leading to the construction of the standard model. It describes the particles and processes predicted by the theory, and compares them with experimental results. It also covers neutral currents, the properties of W and Z bosons, the properties of quarks and mesons containing heavy quarks, neutrino oscillations, CP-asymmetries in K, D, and B meson decays, and the search for Higgs particles. Each chapter contains problems, stemming from the long teaching experience of the author, to supplement the text. This will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers in elementary particle physics.

Supernovae explosion, combustion of solar hydrogen to form helium, heavy quark decay, or nuclear beta radiation, all weak interaction phenomena, are not unrelated to electromagnetism, but closely linked to it through the Higgs field. This ebook contains a modern introduction to the electroweak unification theory, as part of the so called Standard Model of particle physics. Not only some of the key theoretical ideas are exposed in a precise way, but also the experiments that revealed them. The main highlights of the theory consolidation process are examined which, concerning its experimental counterpart, span over 40 years, from the discovery of neutral currents in1973 to the Higgs boson in 2012. The reader is assumed to have been introduced to Quantum Mechanics and theories based on the gauge invariance principle, and to be familiar with Dirac’s theory for the relativistic electron. The course is specially suited for undergraduate students in physics, as part of an optional subject of elementary particles. The course consists in nine lectures, that on the blackboard take about 90 minutes each. It contains a very select collection of problems and exercises, having as a connecting thread the calculation of the lifetime of elementary fermions and bosons, as well as the comprehension of some experimental results of historical relevance.

An exploration of the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology known as astroparticle physics. Extreme electromagnetic conditions present in puslars and other stars allow for investigations of the role of quantum processes in the dynamics of astrophysical objects and in the early Universe. Based in part on the authors' own work, this book systematically describes several methods of calculation of the effects of strong electromagnetic fields in quantum processes using analytical solutions of the Dirac equation and Feynmann diagrams at both the loop and tree levels. The consideration is emphasized at the two limiting cases: the case of a very strong magnetic field, and the case of a crossed field. The presentation will appeal to graduate students of theoretical physics with prior understanding of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) and the Standard Model of Electroweak Interactions, as well as specialists in QFT wishing to know more about the problems of quantum phenomena in external electomagnetic fields.