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1 - Particle Physics Landscape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

Pascal Paganini
Pascal Paganini
Affiliation:
École Polytechnique, Paris
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Summary

A quick introduction to the standard model of particle physics is given. The general concepts of elementary particles, interactions and fields are outlined. The experimental side of particle physics is also briefly discussed: how elementary particles are produced with accelerators or from cosmic rays and how to observe them with detectors via the interactions of particles with matter. The various detector technologies leading to particle identification are briefly presented. The way in which the data collected by the sensors is analysed is also presented: the most frequent probability density functions encountered in particle physics are outlined. How measurements can be used to estimate a quantity from some data and the question of the best estimate of that quantity and its uncertainty are explained. As measurements can also be used to test a hypothesis based on a particular model, the hypothesis testing procedure is explained.

Keywords

fieldsforce carriersinteractions with matteracceleratorscosmic raysdetectorsstatisticsmeasurementshypothesis testingconfidence level
Type
Chapter
Information
Fundamentals of Particle Physics
Understanding the Standard Model
 , pp. 1 - 55
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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