In the post era of the Z and W discovery, after the observation of Jets at UA1 and UA2 at CERN, John Ellis visioned at a HEP conference at Lake Tahoe, California in 1983 “To proceed with high energy particle physics, one has to tag the avour of the quarks!” This statement re ects the need for a highly precise tracking device, being able to resolve secondary and tertiary vertices within high-particle densities. Since the d- tance between the primary interaction point and the secondary vertex is proportional tothelifetimeoftheparticipatingparticle,itisanexcellentquantitytoidentifypar- cle avour in a very fast and precise way. In colliding beam experiments this method was applied especially to tag the presence of b quarks within particle jets. It was rst introduced in the DELPHI experiment at LEP but soon followed by all collider - periments to date. The long expected t quark discovery was possible mainly with the help of the CDF silicon vertex tracker, providing the b quark information. In the beginning of the 21st century the new LHC experiments are beginning to take 2 shape. CMS with its 206m of silicon area is perfectly suited to cope with the high luminosity environment. Even larger detectors are envisioned for the far future, like the SiLC project for the International Linear Collider. Silicon sensors matured from small 1in. single-sided devices to large 6in. double-sided, double metal detectors and to 6in. single-sided radiation hard sensors.

This 2nd edition is an extensive update of "B Decays?. The revisions are necessary because of the extensive amount of new data and new theoretical ideas. This book reviews what is known about b-quark decays and also looks at what can be learned in the future.The importance of this research area is increasing, as evidenced by the approval of the luminosity upgrade for CESR and the asymmetric B factories at SLAC and KEK, and the possibility of experiments at hadron colliders.The key experimental observations made thus far, measurement of the lifetimes of the different B species, B0-B0 mixing, the discovery of ?Penguin? mediated decays, and the extraction of the CKM matrix elements Vub and Vcb from semileptonic decays, as well as more mundane results, are described in great detail by the experimentalists who have been closely involved with making the measurements. Theoretical progress in understanding b-quark decays using HQET and lattice gauge techniques are described by theorists who have developed and used these techniques.Synthesizing the experimental and theoretical information, several articles discuss the implications for the ?Standard Model? and how further tests can be done using measurements of CP violation in the B system.

This book presents more than 300 exercises, with guided solutions, on topics that span both the experimental and the theoretical aspects of particle physics. The exercises are organized by subject, covering kinematics, interactions of particles with matter, particle detectors, hadrons and resonances, electroweak interactions and flavor physics, statistics and data analysis, and accelerators and beam dynamics. Some 200 of the exercises, including 50 in multiple-choice format, derive from exams set by the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Research (INFN) over the past decade to select its scientific staff of experimental researchers. The remainder comprise problems taken from the undergraduate classes at ETH Zurich or inspired by classic textbooks. Whenever appropriate, in-depth information is provided on the source of the problem, and readers will also benefit from the inclusion of bibliographic details and short dissertations on particular topics. This book is an ideal complement to textbooks on experimental and theoretical particle physics and will enable students to evaluate their knowledge and preparedness for exams.

Describes the technology and engineering of the Large Hadron collider (LHC), one of the greatest scientific marvels of this young 21st century. This book traces the feat of its construction, written by the head scientists involved, placed into the context of the scientific goals and principles.

The fourth edition includes new developments, in particular a new section on the double beta decay including a discussion of the possibility of a neutrinoless decay and its implications for the standard model.