Related papers: Trying to understand mass
The nonequilibrium phase transition in a system of diffusing, coagulating particles in the presence of a steady input and evaporation of particles is studied. The system undergoes a transition from a phase in which the average number of…
The concept of mass is central to any theory of gravity. Nevertheless, defining mass in general relativity is a difficult task, and even when it can be accomplished, we still need to investigate whether the typical properties of mass in…
The main topic of this article is a discussion about the best way to show students that the proportionality of mass and weight, strictly true for point-like particles, is an excellent approximation for objects of "normal" size. The usual…
We show that the mass of the matter equal to the mass of the observable part of our Universe is reached at the Planck density in the volume which size is comparable with the nucleon size and is close to the pion Compton wavelength.
We know that neutrino mass and mixing provide a window to physics beyond the Standard Model. Now this window is open, at least partly. And the questions are: what do we see, which kind of new physics, and how far "beyond"? I summarize the…
An elementary general overview of the neutrino physics and astrophysics is given. We start by a historical account of the development of our understanding of neutrinos and how they helped to unravel the structure of the Standard Model. We…
A revolution in our understanding of the neutrino sector is underway, driven by observations that are interpreted in terms of changes in neutrino flavors as they propagate. Since neutrino oscillations occur only if neutrinos are massive,…
Probing the existence of hypothetical particles beyond the Standard model often deals with extreme parameters: large energies, tiny cross-sections, large time scales, etc. Sometimes laboratory experiments can test required regions of…
These lectures aim at providing a pedagogical overview of neutrino physics. We will mostly deal with standard neutrinos, the ones that are part of the Standard Model of particle physics, and with their standard dynamics, which is enough to…
Lattice theory is used to explain the rest masses of the stable mesons and baryons and their spin. From the mass of the charged pi-mesons follows the mass of the muons. From the mass of the muons follows the mass of the electron. We do not…
A possibility of existence of ultra-heavy (quasi)stable particles, mechanisms leading to their large life-time, their production in the early universe, and cosmological manifestations are reviewed.
There may be a link between the quantum properties of the vacuum and the parameters describing the properties of light propagation, culminating in a sum over all types of elementary particles existing in Nature weighted only by their…
The oldest enigma in fundamental particle physics is: Where do the observed masses of elementary particles come from? Inspired by observation of the empirical particle mass spectrum we propose that the masses of elementary particles arise…
We propose further tests of the assumption that the mass of the heavy standard particles ($Z,W,t,...$) arises from a special coupling with dark matter. We look for effects of new interactions due to dark matter exchanges between heavy…
The complicated processes in the medium (decays, reactions and $n\bar{n}$ conversion) involving final state absorption are considered. The calculations in the framework of field and phenomenological approaches are compared. The reasons for…
Calculation of the centre of mass of a group of particles in a periodically-repeating cell is an important aspect of chemical and physical simulation. One popular approach calculates the centre of mass via the projection of the individual…
The question of what should be meant by a measurement is tackled from a mathematical perspective whose physical interpretation is that a measurement is a fundamental process via which a finite amount of classical information is produced.…
Over the last decades, observations with increasing quality have revolutionized our understanding of the general properties of the Universe. Questions posed for millenia by mankind about the origin, evolution and structure of the cosmos…
We present a review of the present status of the problem of neutrino masses and mixing including a survey of theoretical motivations and models, experimental searches and implications of recently appeared solar and atmospheric neutrino…
The reader surely knows what particles physics is about: finding building blocks of nature that appear elementary at a given time and study their interactions - so why in the world this essay? The problem is how to arrive at a fundamental…