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6 - The Discovery of the Upsilon, Bottom Quark, and B Mesons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2010

By
Leon M. Lederman
Edited by
Lillian Hoddeson ,
Laurie Brown ,
Michael Riordan  and
Max Dresden
Leon M. Lederman
Affiliation:
Born New York City, 1922; Ph.D., 1951 (physics), Columbia University; Pritzker Professor of Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago; Director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 1979–89; Wolf Prize, 1982; Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988; high-energy physics (experimental).
Lillian Hoddeson
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Laurie Brown
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
Michael Riordan
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
Max Dresden
Affiliation:
Stanford University, California
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Summary

History conferences are designed to set the record straight or, depending on where you stand, make it as crooked as it can possibly be. In this case I intend to personalize the story and the complicated reason is that the discovery of the bottom quark, almost exactly fifteen years ago, was the culmination of a series of events in experimental physics which go back to the discovery of the muon neutrino just thirty years ago, in 1962. I think it's important to emphasize that this story is one of missed opportunities, abysmal judgment, monumental blunders, stupid mistakes, and inoperative equipment. It was leavened only by the incredible luck and incandescent good fortune which you all know is an essential ingredient for any physics career. Lest you sneer that I am displaying false modesty, I beg you to hold your opinion until you've seen the data.

Preamble

In the period Haim Harari called “From the fourth lepton to the fifth quark,” we found the muon neutrino but missed neutral currents. We discovered what became known as the Drell–Yan process but missed the J/ψ. We missed the J/ψ again at the ISR but stumbled on high-transverse-momentum hadrons. We missed the J/ψ at Fermilab in 1973, chasing single-direct-lepton yields that were a red herring. Then we found a false upsilon. But finally Nature, terrified that she would be stuck with us forever, yielded up her secret, the true upsilon (ϒ), hoping this would make us go away.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Rise of the Standard Model
A History of Particle Physics from 1964 to 1979
 , pp. 101 - 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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  • The Discovery of the Upsilon, Bottom Quark, and B Mesons
    • By Leon M. Lederman, Born New York City, 1922; Ph.D., 1951 (physics), Columbia University; Pritzker Professor of Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago; Director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 1979–89; Wolf Prize, 1982; Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988; high-energy physics (experimental).
  • Edited by Lillian Hoddeson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Laurie Brown, Northwestern University, Illinois, Michael Riordan, Stanford University, California, Max Dresden, Stanford University, California
  • Book: The Rise of the Standard Model
  • Online publication: 03 February 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511471094.008
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  • The Discovery of the Upsilon, Bottom Quark, and B Mesons
    • By Leon M. Lederman, Born New York City, 1922; Ph.D., 1951 (physics), Columbia University; Pritzker Professor of Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago; Director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 1979–89; Wolf Prize, 1982; Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988; high-energy physics (experimental).
  • Edited by Lillian Hoddeson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Laurie Brown, Northwestern University, Illinois, Michael Riordan, Stanford University, California, Max Dresden, Stanford University, California
  • Book: The Rise of the Standard Model
  • Online publication: 03 February 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511471094.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Discovery of the Upsilon, Bottom Quark, and B Mesons
    • By Leon M. Lederman, Born New York City, 1922; Ph.D., 1951 (physics), Columbia University; Pritzker Professor of Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago; Director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 1979–89; Wolf Prize, 1982; Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988; high-energy physics (experimental).
  • Edited by Lillian Hoddeson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Laurie Brown, Northwestern University, Illinois, Michael Riordan, Stanford University, California, Max Dresden, Stanford University, California
  • Book: The Rise of the Standard Model
  • Online publication: 03 February 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511471094.008
Available formats
×