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Particle physics is the science that pursues the age-old quest for the innermost structure of matter and the fundamental interactions between its constituents. Modern experiments in this field rely increasingly on calorimetry, a detection technique in which the particles of interest are absorbed in the detector. Calorimeters are very intricate instruments. Their performance characteristics depend on subtle, sometimes counter-intuitive design details.
Written by one of the world's foremost experts, Calorimetry is the first comprehensive text on this topic. It provides a fundamental and systematic introduction to calorimetry. It describes the state of the art in terms of both the fundamental understanding of calorimetric particle detection, and the actual detectors that have been or are being built and operated in experiments. The last chapter discusses landmark scientific discoveries in which calorimetry has played an important role. This book summarizes and puts into perspective the work described in some 900 scientific papers, listed in the bibliography. This second edition emphasizes new developments that have taken place since the first edition appeared in 2000.
List of contents
- 1: Introduction: Seventy Years of Calorimetry
- 2: The Physics of Shower Development
- 3: The Energy Response of Calorimeters
- 4: Fluctuations
- 5: Instrumental Aspects
- 6: Calibrating a Calorimeter System
- 7: Performance of Calorimeter Systems
- 8: New Calorimeter Techniques
- 9: Analysis and Interpretation of Test Beam Data
- 10: Calorimeters for Measuring Natural Phenomena
- 11: Contributions of Calorimetry to the Advancement of Science
About the author
Richard Wigmans was born in the Netherlands. He studied physics in Amsterdam (PhD, 1975). Until 1991, he worked at CERN as a research scientist. He engaged in the fundamental aspects of calorimetry, in particular the compensation mechanism. In 1991, he relocated to the USA, attracted by the prospects of the Superconducting Super Collider then under construction in Texas, where Texas Tech University offered him an endowed chair in the department of physics. In 2012, the Institute of Elecrical and Electronics Engineers awarded him the Outstanding Achievement award for Radiation Instrumentation. Wigmans is considered one of the world's leading experts on calorimetric particle detection.
Summary
This is a comprehensive text on a class of instruments used by scientists to study the innermost structure of matter. The author, one of the world's leading experts in this field, describes the principles of operation, the factors determining performance, and the state-of-the-art in understanding and application of these instruments.
Additional text
Review from previous edition A rich source of information that will be useful for those designing calorimeters, for a long time to come.
Report
Calorimetry is the most exhaustive compilation of the knowledge on calorimeters in particle physics... Wigmans keeps [his]finger on the pulse following new developments in calorimetry, performance studies of existing detectors and advances of science achieved via application of the calorimeters. Yuri Kharlov, Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics
