Particle physics studies the fundamental constituents of matter and radiation and the forces through which they interact. Its roots lie in the late nineteenth century discovery that the atom is not indivisible: J.J. Thomson's 1897 cathode-ray experiments identified the electron, a particle far lighter than any atom, and Ernest Rutherford's 1911 gold foil experiments showed that an atom's mass and positive charge are concentrated in a tiny central nucleus. Through the early twentieth century the field grew alongside nuclear physics, cosmic-ray research and quantum field theory, discovering the proton, neutron and positron, before large particle accelerators built after the Second World War let physicists probe matter at ever smaller scales and higher energies. In 1964 Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig independently proposed that protons and neutrons are themselves built from smaller constituents Gell-Mann named quarks, a model confirmed experimentally at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in 1968. International laboratories, above all CERN, founded in 1954, became the field's central experimental sites, culminating in the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson. Historians of science do not agree on a single founding moment for particle physics as a distinct discipline, since it emerged gradually from several converging research traditions rather than one act of founding.
Facts
Central QuestionSourced to the subject's own accountWhy does the observable universe contain so much more matter than antimatter, when the known laws of physics predict the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of each? 1 ScopeSourced to the subject's own accountParticle physics studies the fundamental particles that make up matter and radiation, and the forces through which they interact, using accelerators to probe matter at the smallest scales achievable. 1 SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountJ. J. Thomson's 1897 discovery of the electron, the first known subatomic particle, showed that atoms were not the indivisible units their name implies, opening the study of matter's truly fundamental constituents that became particle physics. 1 Disputed
Founded YearNo single founding date is agreed among historians of science. Candidates include 1932 (Carl Anderson's discovery of the positron in cosmic rays, confirming Dirac's prediction of antimatter), June 2 1947 (the Shelter Island Conference, often dated as the birth of modern theoretical high-energy physics), and 1950 (the first elementary particle, the neutral pion, discovered using a particle accelerator rather than cosmic rays). The field is more often described as emerging from a convergence of nuclear physics, cosmic-ray studies and quantum field theory than from a single founding act. Particle Physics
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The American Physical Societys Division of Particles and Fields, established 1967, is the fields principal professional body in the United States.
Source Fermilab (Wikipedia)
Founded By
Source Particle Physics (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist
Source Abram Alikhanov (Wikipedia)
Source Alain Connes (Wikipedia)
Source Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya (Wikipedia)
Source Carlo Rubbia (Wikipedia)
Source Debendra Mohan Bose (Wikipedia)
Source Enrico Fermi (Wikipedia)
Source Giuseppe Occhialini (Wikipedia)
Source Henry Way Kendall (Wikipedia)
Source Joseph John J. J. Thomson (Science History Institute)
Source James Cronin (Wikipedia)
Source Melvin Schwartz (Wikipedia)
Source Particle Pioneer Murray Gell-Mann, Who Coined the Term Quarks, Dies at 89 (Physics World)Michael Banks
Source Richard E. Taylor (Wikipedia)
Source Robert Brout (Wikipedia)
Source Toshihide Maskawa (Wikipedia)
Source Val Logsdon Fitch (Wikipedia)
Has Theory
Source Higgs mechanism (Wikipedia)
Source Quantum Electrodynamics (Wikipedia)
Source String Theory (Wikipedia)
Open Questions
Source Particle Physics (Wikipedia)
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Used In
Source Our History (CERN)
Uses
Central instrument in J. J. Thomson's 1897 discovery of the electron, the first identified subatomic particle.
Source Cathode-ray tube (Wikipedia)
The linear accelerator boosts charged particles to high energy along a straight path, foundational to particle physics from Rolf Widerooe's 1928 design through modern colliders' injector stages.
Sources
1. Particle Physics (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation.
- Founded By: J. J. Thomson
View the Source 2. The Rise of Particle Physics (arXiv preprint)
arXivAbstractQuote, Abstract
Discovery of the J Particle at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Physics of Electrons and Positrons; The Standard Model Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; The Rise of Gauge Theories: From Many Models to One Theory; From Charm to CP Violation; When the Standard Model Was Ignored; The Discovery of the W and Z Bosons at the CERN Proton-Antiproton Collider.
Joseph John J. J. Thomson (Science History Institute)
Science History InstituteLead section
The British physicist Joseph John "J. J." Thomson (1856-1940) performed a series of experiments in 1897 designed to study the nature of electric discharge in a high-vacuum cathode-ray tube, an area being investigated by many scientists at the time.
- Has Scientist: J. J. Thomson
View the Source Particle Pioneer Murray Gell-Mann, Who Coined the Term Quarks, Dies at 89 (Physics World)
Michael Banks, Physics World, 2019Has Scientist: Murray Gell-MannView the Source Our History (CERN)
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research)Used In: CERNView the Source Cathode-ray tube (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUses: Cathode-ray Tube, Discoveries sectionQuote, Uses: Cathode-ray Tube, Discoveries section
In 1897, J. J. Thomson succeeded in measuring the mass-to-charge ratio of cathode rays, showing that they consisted of negatively charged particles smaller than atoms, the first 'subatomic particles.'
Enrico Fermi (Wikipedia)
Fermilab (Wikipedia)
Giuseppe Occhialini (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Giuseppe Occhialini, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Giuseppe Occhialini, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle physics
Robert Brout (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Robert Brout, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Robert Brout, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Statistical mechanics; Quantum field theory; Particle physics; Cosmology
Val Logsdon Fitch (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Val Fitch, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Val Fitch, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle physics
Abram Alikhanov (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Abram Alikhanov, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Abram Alikhanov, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle and nuclear physics
Debendra Mohan Bose (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Debendra Mohan Bose, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Debendra Mohan Bose, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle physics; Nuclear physics; Radiochemistry
Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: High energy physics
Alain Connes (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Alain Connes, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Alain Connes, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Mathematics ; Particle physics
Melvin Schwartz (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Melvin Schwartz, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Melvin Schwartz, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle physics
Richard E. Taylor (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Richard E. Taylor, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Richard E. Taylor, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: Particle physics
Toshihide Maskawa (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Toshihide Maskawa, Infobox, fieldsQuote, Has Scientist: Toshihide Maskawa, Infobox, fields
Infobox fields: High energy physics (theory)
James Cronin (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: James Cronin, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Scientist: James Cronin, Lead sentence
James Watson Cronin (September 29, 1931, August 25, 2016) was an American particle physicist.
Carlo Rubbia (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Carlo Rubbia, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Scientist: Carlo Rubbia, Lead sentence
Carlo Rubbia (; born 31 March 1934) is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.
Henry Way Kendall (Wikipedia)
Has Scientist: Henry Way Kendall, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Scientist: Henry Way Kendall, Lead sentence
Henry Way Kendall (December 9, 1926, February 15, 1999) was an American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 jointly with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E. Taylor "for their pioneering investigations concerning deep inelastic scattering of electrons on protons and bound
Higgs mechanism (Wikipedia)
Has Theory: Higgs Mechanism, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Theory: Higgs Mechanism, Lead sentence
In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons.
String Theory (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHas Theory: String Theory, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Theory: String Theory, Lead sentence
In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings.
Quantum Electrodynamics (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHas Theory: Quantum Electrodynamics, Lead sentenceQuote, Has Theory: Quantum Electrodynamics, Lead sentence
In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics.
Particle Detector
Has Theory: Particle Detector, Lead sentence
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify ionizing particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a
Studies: Particle Detector, Lead sentence
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify ionizing particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a
View the SourceOpen Questions (1 open question)
Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe?
The Big Bang should have produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter, which would have annihilated each other completely, leaving no universe of matter at all. The known laws of particle physics do not explain the small asymmetry, thought to be about one extra matter particle per billion matter-antimatter pairs, that let the observable universe of stars, planets and everything else exist.
What would resolve this Discovery of a new source of charge-parity violation, beyond the small amount already observed in known particle interactions, sufficient to account for the measured cosmic matter-antimatter imbalance.
Particle physics and physical cosmologyParticle Physics (Wikipedia)
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