Our faculty members frequently publish textbooks which obtain national recognition. Listed below are a selection of these books.
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The Cosmic Cocktail: Three Parts Dark Matter by Professor Katherine Freese. Blending cutting-edge science with her own behind-the-scenes insights as a leading researcher in the field, acclaimed theoretical physicist Katherine Freese recounts the hunt for dark matter, from the discoveries of visionary scientists like Fritz Zwicky--the Swiss astronomer who coined the term "dark matter" in 1933--to the deluge of data today from underground laboratories, satellites in space, and the Large Hadron Collider. Theorists contend that dark matter consists of fundamental particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. Billions of them pass through our bodies every second without us even realizing it, yet their gravitational pull is capable of whirling stars and gas at breakneck speeds around the centers of galaxies, and bending light from distant bright objects. Freese describes the larger-than-life characters and clashing personalities behind the race to identify these elusive particles. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Katherine Freese Amazon Page |
Published by Princeton University Press (May 4, 2014) Hardcover, 272 Pages ISBN: 978-0691153353 |
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Supersymmetry and Beyond: From the Higgs Boson to the New Physics by Professor Gordon Kane. This book tells the epic story of the quest to uncover a fully unified theory of physics. He introduces the theory of supersymmetry, which implies that each of the fundamental particles has a "superpartner" that can be detected at energies and intensities only now being achieved in the giant accelerators. If the theory is correct, these superpartners will also help solve many of the puzzles of modern physics - such as the existence of the Higgs boson - as well as one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology: the notorious "dark matter" of the universe. This book has been updated to reflect recent discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Gordon Kane Amazon Page |
Published by Basic Books; Revised Edition (May 14, 2013) Paperback, 216 Pages ISBN: 978-0465082971 |
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Equilibrium Statistical Physics With Computer Simulations in Python by Professor Leonard Sander. This book is intended primarily as a graduate textbook for students of Physics. Students in other field such as Biophysics, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or Chemistry may also find much to interest them. This book can also serve as a reference for interested students and researchers. |
| Author: Leonard M. Sander Amazon Page Table of Contents |
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st Edition (July 27, 2013) Paperback, 334 Pages ISBN: 978-1491066515 |
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Effective Theories in Physics From Planetary Orbits to Elementary Particle Masses by James D. Wells. There is significant interest in the Philosophy of Science community to understand the role that "effective theories" have in the work of forefront science. The ideas of effective theories have been implicit in science for a long time, but have only been articulated well in the last few decades. Since Wilson's renormalization group revolution in the early 1970's, the science community has come to more fully understand its power, and by the mid-1990's it had gained its apotheosis. It is still one of the most powerful concepts in science, which has direct impact in how one thinks about and formulates theories of nature. It is this power that this Brief sets out to emphasize through historical analysis and current examples. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: James D. Wells Amazon Page Table of Contents |
Published by Springer; 2012 Edition (December 14, 2012) Paperback, 84 Pages ISBN: 978-3642348914 |
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Computational Physics by Mark Newman.
A complete introduction to the field of computational physics, with examples and exercises in the Python programming language. Computers play a central role in virtually every major physics discovery today, from astrophysics and particle physics to biophysics and condensed matter. This book explains the fundamentals of computational physics and describes in simple terms the techniques that every physicist should know, such as finite difference methods, numerical quadrature, and the fast Fourier transform. The book offers a complete introduction to the topic at the undergraduate level, and is also suitable for the advanced student or researcher who wants to learn the foundational elements of this important field.
(Amazon.com)
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| Author: Mark Newman Amazon.com Page |
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 7, 2012) 562 Pages ISBN: 978-1480145511 |
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Light Scattering in Solids IX: Novel Materials and Techniques (Topics in Applied Physics) by Manuel Cardona and Professor Roberto Merlin. This is the ninth volume of a well-established series in which expert practitioners discuss topical aspects of light scattering in solids. It reviews recent developments concerning mainly semiconductor nanostructures and inelastic x-ray scattering, including both coherent time-domain and spontaneous scattering studies. In the past few years, light scattering has become one of the most important research and characterization methods for studying carbon nanotubes and semiconducting quantum dots, and a crucial tool for exploring the coupled exciton--photon system in semiconductor cavities. Among the novel techniques discussed in this volume are pump--probe ultrafast measurements and those which use synchrotron radiation as light source. The book addresses improvements in the intensity, beam quality and time synchronization of modern synchrotron sources, which made it possible to measure the phonon dispersion in very small samples and to determine electronic energy bands as well as enabling real-time observations of high-frequency sound propagation. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Manuel Cardona and Roberto Merlin |
Published by Springer; Softcover Reprint of Hardcover 1st Edition 2007 Edition (November 30, 2010) Softcover, 434 Pages ISBN: 978-3642070792 |
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The Atlas of the Real World: Mapping the Way We Live by Daniel Dorling, Professor Mark E. J. Newman, and Anna Barford. In this definitive reference, sophisticated software combines with comprehensive analysis of every aspect of life to represent the world as it really is. Digitally modified maps or cartograms depict the areas and countries of the world not by their physical size, but by their demographic importance on a vast range of subjects, from basic data on population, health, and occupation to how many toys we import and who’s eating the most vegetables. |
| Authors: Mark E. J. Newman Amazon Page |
Published by Thames & Hudson; Revised and Expanded Edition (October 15, 2010) Paperback, 416 Pages ISBN: 978-0500288534 |
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Networks: An Introduction by Professor Mark E. J. Newman. The study of networks is broadly interdisciplinary and important developments have occurred in many fields, including mathematics, physics, computer and information sciences, biology, and the social sciences. This book brings together for the first time the most important breakthroughs in each of these fields and presents them in a coherent fashion, highlighting the strong interconnections between work in different areas. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Mark E. J. Newman Amazon Page |
Published by Oxford University Press, USA; 1st Edition (May 20, 2010) Hardcover, 720 Pages ISBN: 978-0199206650 |
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Innovation Was Not Enough: A History of the Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA) by Professor Lawrence Jones. This book presents a history of the Midwestern Universities Research Association (MURA) during its lifetime from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. MURA was responsible for a number of important contributions to the science of particle accelerators, including the invention of fixed field alternating gradient accelerators (FFAG), as well as contributions to accelerator orbit theory, radio frequency acceleration techniques, colliding beams technology, orbit instabilities, computation methods, and designs of accelerator magnets and linear accelerator cavities. A number of students were trained by MURA in accelerator techniques, and went on to important posts where they made further contributions to the field. The authors were all members of the MURA staff and themselves made many contributions to the field. No other such history exists, and there are relatively few publications devoted to the history of particle accelerators. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Lawrence Jones, Frederick Mills, Andrew Sessler, Keith Symon, and Donald Young Amazon Page First Chapter |
Published by World Scientific Publishing Company (October 29, 2009) Hardcover, 268 Pages ISBN: 978-9812832832 |
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Advanced Condensed Matter Physics by Professor Leonard Sander. This text includes coverage of important topics that are not commonly featured in other textbooks on condensed matter physics; these include surfaces, the quantum Hall effect, and superfluidity. The author avoids complex formalism, such as Green's functions, which can obscure the underlying physics, and instead emphasizes fundamental physical reasoning. This textbook is ideal for physics graduates as well as students in chemistry and engineering; it can equally serve as a reference for research students in condensed matter physics. Engineering students, in particular, will find the treatment of the fundamentals of semiconductor devices and the optics of solids of particular interest. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Leonard M. Sander Amazon Page PDF of Book |
Published by Cambridge University Press; 1st Edition (March 16, 2009) Hardback, 286 Pages ISBN: 978-0521872904 |
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Perspectives on LHC Physics by Professor Gordon Kane and Professor Aaron Pierce. This book provides an overview on the techniques that will be crucial for finding new physics at the LHC, as well as perspectives on the importance and implications of the discoveries. Among the accomplished contributors to this book are leaders and visionaries in the field of particle physics beyond the Standard Model, including two Nobel Laureates (Steven Weinberg and Frank Wilczek), and presumably some future Nobel Laureates, plus top younger theorists and experimenters. With its blend of popular and technical contents, the book will have wide appeal, not only to physical scientists but also to those in related fields. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Gordon Kane & Aaron Pierce Amazon Page |
Published by World Scientific Publishing Company; 1st Edition (June 27, 2008) Paperback, 352 Pages ISBN: 978-1403986115 |
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Encyclopedia of Modern Optics by Professor Duncan G. Steel and Bob D. Guenther. The encyclopedia provides valuable reference material for those working in the field who wish to know more about a topic outside their area of expertise, as well as providing an authoritative reference source for students and researchers. Undergraduate students should find it a useful source of material, as will teachers and lecturers. It will also be useful at the postgraduate level for summarizing a broad range of theoretical topics, for practical advice on research techniques and for insights into new ways of approaching research problems. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Duncan G. Steel & Bob D. Guenther Amazon Page |
Published by Elsevier; 1st Edition (December 17, 2004) Hardcover, 5-Volume Set, 2400 Pages ISBN: 978-0122276002 |
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Origins of Existence by Professor Fred C. Adams. Professor Adams gives us a stunning new perspective on how the laws of physics created our non-random universe and life itself. This handful of laws resulted in the big bang, which led to stars, galaxies and then to solar systems with planets such as Earth. That process was absolutely necessary for all the tiny chemical structures and vast landscapes required for life to emerge. One of Adams's amazing claims is that organisms did not evolve in a primodial soup in a pond on the Earth's surface, but rather one of many such structures in the vast cosmic landscape. In seven chronological chapters, Adams takes the reader from the general subjects of physics and the universe to the specific origins of life on earth - showing clearly how energy flowed, exploded and was harnessed in replicating organisms. He reveals how the evolution of the universe followed a clear path toward the emergence of life. His insight provides an answer to humankind's deepest anxiety - we are almost certainly not alone in the universe - and throws a whole new light on our identity and beliefs. Life wasn't a lucky break, but the result of physics. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Fred C. Adams Amazon Page |
Published by Free Press; 1st Edition (October 15, 2002) Hardcover, 272 Pages ISBN: 978-0743212625 |
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Probability and Statistics in Experimental Physics by Professor Byron P. Roe. This book is a practical introduction to the use of probability and statistics in experimental physics for graduate students and advanced undergraduates. It is intended as a practical guide, not as a comprehensive text in probability and statistics. The emphasis is on applications and understanding, on theorems and techniques that are actually used in experimental physics. Proofs of theorems are generally omitted unless they contribute to the intuition in understanding and applying the theorem. The problems, some with worked solutions, introduce the student to the use of computers; occasional reference is made to some of the Fortran routines available in the CERN library, but other systems, such as Maple, will also be useful. Topics covered include: basic concepts and definitions; general results, independent of specific distributions; discrete distributions; the normal distribution and other continuous distributions; generating and characteristic functions; the Monte Carlo method and computer simulations; multi-dimensional distributions; the central limit theorem; inverse probability and confidence limits; estimation methods; curve fitting, robustness estimates, and likelihood ratios; interpolating functions and unfolding problems; fitting data with constraints; robust estimation methods. (books.google.com) |
| Author: Byron P. Roe Amazon Page Table of Contents |
Published by Springer; 2nd Edition (July 1, 2001) Hardcover, 252 Pages ISBN: 978-0387951638 |
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Raman Scattering in Materials Science (Springer Series in Materials Science) by Willes H. Weber and Professor Roberto Merlin. Raman scattering is now being applied with increasing success to a wide range of practical problems at the cutting edge of materials science. The purpose of this book is to make Raman spectroscopy understandable to the non-specialist and thus to bring it into the mainstream of routine materials characterization. The book is pedagogical in approach and focuses on technologically important condensed-matter systems in which the specific use of Raman spectroscopy yields new and useful information. Included are chapters on instrumentation, bulk semiconductors and alloys, heterostructures, high-Tc superconductors, catalysts, carbon-based materials, wide-gap and super-hard materials, and polymers. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Willes H. Weber and Roberto Merlin Amazon Page |
Published by Springer; 2000 Edition (August 24, 2000) Hardcover, 493 Pages ISBN: 978-3540672234 |
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The Five Ages of the Universe by Professor Fred C. Adams and Greg Laughlin. In this book, Adams and Laughlin provide a detailed description of the physical processes that guided our past and that will shape our future. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Fred C. Adams and Greg Laughlin Amazon Page |
Published by Free Press (June 19, 2000) Paperback, 288 Pages ISBN: 978-0684865768 |
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The Particle Garden by Professor Kane gives the clearest survey of particle physics, including the theory, its experimental foundations, its relations to cosmology and astrophysics, and its future. Known as an excellent expositor of physics, Kane has marshaled his research and teaching experience to make this daunting subject understandable to all readers. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Gordon Kane Amazon Page |
Published by Basic Books; Unstated Edition (July 2, 1996) Paperback, 240 Pages ISBN: 978-0201408263 |
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Modern Elementary Particle Physics by Professor Kane. Professor Kane explains the modern standard model and the gauge theory of the interactions of quarks and leptons via exchange of photons, W and Z bosons, and gluons. The treatment avoids technical details, but fully explains the basic physics involved. Open questions and directions of future research are discussed. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Gordon Kane Amazon Page |
Published by Basic Books; Unstated Edition (July 2, 1996) Paperback, 240 Pages ISBN: 978-0201408263 |
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Particle Physics at the New Millennium by Professor Byron Roe. Intended for beginning graduate students or advanced undergraduates, this text provides a thorough introduction to the phenomena of high-energy physics and the Standard Model of elementary particles. It should thus provide a sufficient introduction to the field for experimenters, as well as sufficient background for theorists to continue with advanced courses on field theory. The text develops the Standard Model from the bottom up, showing the experimental evidence for each theoretical assumption and emphasizing the most recent results. It includes thorough discussions of electromagnetic interactions (of interest in particle detection), magnetic monopoles, and extensions of the Standard Model. (fishpond.com) |
| Author: Byron Roe fishpond.com Page |
Published by: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. (1996) ISBN: 0387946152 |
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Geometrical Vectors (Chicago Lectures in Physics) by Professor Gabriel Weinreich. Every advanced undergraduate and graduate student of physics must master the concepts of vectors and vector analysis. Yet most books cover this topic by merely repeating the introductory-level treatment based on a limited algebraic or analytic view of the subject. Geometrical Vectors introduces a more sophisticated approach, which not only brings together many loose ends of the traditional treatment, but also leads directly into the practical use of vectors in general curvilinear coordinates by carefully separating those relationships which are topologically invariant from those which are not. Based on the essentially geometric nature of the subject, this approach builds consistently on students' prior knowledge and geometrical intuition.Written in an informal and personal style, Geometrical Vectors provides a handy guide for any student of vector analysis. Clear, carefully constructed line drawings illustrate key points in the text, and problem sets as well as physical examples are provided. (Amazon.com) |
| Author: Gabriel Weinreich Amazon.com Page |
Published by: University of Chicago Press; 1 Edition (July 6, 1998) ISBN: 978-0226890487 |
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Confessions of a Jewish Priest: From Secular Jewish War Refugee to Physicist and Episcopal Clergyman The Confessions of a Jewish Priest are the reminiscences of [Professor Emeritus] Gabriel Weinreich, a secular Jew who was born in Poland and moved to the U.S. as a young adolescent during World War II thus narrowly escaping the Holocaust. The book follows Weinreich as he becomes an American, twice-husband, father, and an award-winning scientist, and shows how his subsequent journey toward Christianity and ordination to the Episcopal priesthood do nothing to impair his sense of "Jewishness." In addition to telling a compelling life story of a boy from an eminent Jewish family, the book takes us on a journey into Christianity as perceived by a Jew who began as a complete atheist—but realizes later in life that he never really was an atheist after all. (Wipf and Stock Publishers) |
| Author: Gabriel Weinreich Amazon.com Page |
Published by: Wipf & Stock Pub (February 1, 2010) 192 Pages ISBN: 978-1608992096 |
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Notes for general physics |
| Author: Gabriel Weinreich Amazon.com Page |
Published by: Neo Press (1972) Paperback, 238 Pages ISBN: 978-0911014174 |
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To Win a Nuclear War: The Pentagon's Secret War Plans by Professors Michio Kaku and Daniel Axelrod provides a startling glimpse into secret U.S. plans to initiate a nuclear war from 1945 to the present. Based on recently declassified Top Secret documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, this book meticulously traces how U.S. policy makers in over a dozen episodes have threatened to initiate a nuclear attack. (Amazon.com) |
| Authors: Michio Kaku, Daniel Axelrod Amazon.com Page |
Published by: South End Press (July 1, 1999) Paperback, 374 Pages ISBN: 978-0896083219 |
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Our energy, regaining control: A strategy for economic revival through redesign in energy use by Professor Emeritus Marc Ross and Robert H. Williams. |
| Authors: Professor Emeritus Marc Ross and Professor Robert H. Williams | Published by: McGraw-Hill (1981) Hardcover, 354 Pages ISBN: 978-0070538948 |
