Related papers: The Charm of Theoretical Physics (1958-1993)
From the late 1920s to the early 1950s, cosmic rays were the main instrument to investigate what we now call "high-energy physics". In approximately 25 years, an intense experimental and theoretical work brought particle physics from its…
During the 1920s and 1930s, Italian physicists established strong relationships with scientists from other European countries and the United States. The career of Bruno Rossi, a leading personality in the study of cosmic rays and an Italian…
As a way to recall and honour Guido Altarelli I contribute to the discussion on the prospect for the future of Particle Physics. I do this because I am sure that Guido would have liked the discussion, even though I am not equally sure that…
The history of the Arcetri Institute of Physics at the University of Florence is analyzed from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s. Thanks to the arrival of Garbasso in 1913, not only did the Institute gain new premises on…
The year 2023 marks three anniversaries: the 150th anniversary of the French Physical Society, the 100th anniversary since the publication of Louis de Broglie's articles (the first fundamental articles of Quantum Mechanics) and the 50th…
This article gives a sketch of teachers and colleagues who have had strong influence on my becoming a particle physicist.
The evolution of Physics between the second half of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century is presented coupling art and science, in the framework of Ferrara. The main characters are Giuseppe Bongiovanni, Professor of…
This contribution aims to give an overview of the historical context of neutrino physics. I will present the strong social trends that shaped physics and the way physicists worked, along the 20th century. First, we will see the background…
Some thoughts are presented on the inter-relation between beauty and truth in science in general and theoretical physics in particular. Some conjectural procedures that can be used to create new ideas, concepts and results are illustrated…
We review, in a historical perspective, developments in physics which led to the emergence of unifying ideas and theories. Some attention is paid to the theoretical programme that started in the second decade of the XXth century and whose…
I briefly review the conceptual developments that led to the Standard Model and discuss some of its remarkable qualitative features. On the way, I draw attention to several puzzling aspects that are beyond the reach of our present…
The history of the Institute of Physics at the University of Florence is traced from the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of Antonio Garbasso as Director (1913), to the 1960s. Thanks to Garbasso's expertise, not only did the…
In an imaginary conversation with Guido Altarelli, I express my views on the status of particle physics beyond the Standard Model and its future prospects.
We set the scene for theoretical issues in charm physics that were discussed at CHARM 2016 in Bologna. In particular we emphasize the importance of improving our understanding of standard model contributions to numerous charm observables…
The physics of tau and charm started in early 70's after J/$\psi$ and $\tau$ were discovered. Since then several dedicated accelerators and experiments were built with increasing luminosities and studies on light hadron spectroscopy,…
In memory of the famous physicist Bruno Pontecorvo, whereof is just occurred the centenary anniversary of the birth and the twentieth anniversary of the death, this paper traces the scientific and human adventure of the italian scientist,…
Some important topics from history of neutrino physics over the last fifty years are discussed. History of neutrinos is older, at 4th December 2010 it will be eightieth anniversary of the "neutrino birth". In that day W. Pauli wrote the…
This text offers reminiscences of my personal interactions with Roman Jackiw as a way of looking back at the very fertile period in theoretical physics in the last quarter of the 20th century.
Particle physics has evolved a coherent model that characterizes forces and particles at the most elementary level. This Standard Model, built from many theoretical and experimental studies, is in excellent accord with almost all current…
In the period from about 1890 to 1915 an interdisciplinary and unifying research programme known as "cosmical physics" attracted much scientific and public attention. It typically included aspects of the earth sciences (such as magnetic…