Table Of ContentFundamental &
Applied Aspects
of Modern Physics
Editors
S. H. Connell & R. Tegen
World Scientific
Fundamental & Applied Aspects
of Modern Physics
» T 1 T I f 11 Proceedings of the International Conference on
A 1 1 1J Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Modern Physics
Fundamental & Applied Aspects
of Modern Physics
Liideritz, Namibia 13-17 November 2000
Editors
S. H. Connell & R. Tegen
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
South Africa
V fe World Scientific
«• New JJeersrseeyy • •L Loonnddoonn • •S Siii ngapore • Hong Kong
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
P O Box 128, Fairer Road, Singapore 912805
USA office: Suite IB, 1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED ASPECTS OF MODERN PHYSICS
Copyright © 2001 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval
system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher.
For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to
photocopy is not required from the publisher.
ISBN 981-02-4589-0
Printed in Singapore by World Scientific Printers
PREFACE
The International Conference on "Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Modern
Physics : Liideritz 2000" took place from the 13th to the 17th of November 2000 in
the town of Liideritz, Namibia. The conference programme both reflected and
celebrated the lifelong contribution to Science of one of Southern Africa's most
eminent scientists, Professor Jacques Pierre Friederich (Friedel) Sellschop. The
scope of the conference, therefore, covered research in atomic, nuclear, elementary
particle and astro- physics. Solid state physics featured as well, particularly
regarding those aspects where the applications of techniques from the basic
disciplines mentioned previously enabled new insights or new technologies.
Diamond physics had a special place in this regard. The contributions on science
policy marked an additional important theme.
Over one hundred delegates from around the world, including 20 Southern African
students participated in Liideritz 2000. Many of the delegates were very senior and
eminent scientists indeed (both from the theoretical and the experimental
fraternity), attracted to the conference variously by their scientific and personal
relationship with Friedel, by the conference programme, or by a common interest
in building science capacity in Africa. Accordingly, the calibre of their
contributions has ensured the high standard of these proceedings, and made its
compilation a great pleasure. We may whet the reader's appetite for these
proceedings by mentioning briefly only some of the highlights :
A keenly anticipated presentation "A confrontation with infinity" was delivered by
the 1999 Nobel laureate in Physics, Gerard 't Hooft from Utrecht (The
Netherlands). In his paper Gerard 't Hooft reviewed the physics concepts that
allowed him to "tame the infinities" that previously plagued theories of the weak
interaction. This talk, based on his Nobel lecture, was presented with clarity and
insight, and it concluded with a discussion of future directions in our quest for the
understanding of basic forces and material particles.
Liideritz 2000 took place at a most appropriate time for John Ellis to review very
recent results from the accelerator facility LEP (i.e. ALEPH and the L3
collaborations at CERN, Geneva ) in its dramatic swansong. Tantalising candidate
events representing the possible direct observation of the elusive Higgs particle had
been seen. John Ellis' overview of the physics of this field was luminary, and set
the backdrop for other exciting related talks.
The interface of nuclear and elementary particle physics, probing our
understanding of extreme states of matter was richly represented, in overview by
Walter Greiner, and then in detail by many other researchers. They showed clearly
this is a productive field theoretically, justifying the many new large scale
experimental investigations now being mounted at new or soon to be
commissioned international facilities.
V
VI
Coming down in energy, the delegates were treated to Paul Kienle's revelation of
the first clear observation of deeply bound pionic states within the nucleus. The
editors appreciate his group's decision to use these proceedings as their vehicle for
the first announcement of this result.
Interfacing materials and high energy physics, Achim Richter demonstrated the
beautiful physics progress that can be achieved with finesse. This demonstrates his
clear and original physics intuition (his award of the prestigious Stern-Gerlach
medal of the German Physical Society was announced to the Conference). His
monograph on radiation physics with diamond is most instructive. Others gave
talks in a similar vein. For example, Erik Uggerhoj showed how, at very high
energies, diamond becomes a laboratory for QED. Next, Mayda Velasco carried
this baton further, by expounding on the possibility of a Higgs factory, based on a
gamma-gamma collider, most possibly exploiting diamond radiators. Thus, solid
state aspects of diamond physics were linked back to high energy physics.
Space constraints prohibit further review of the scientific material of the
proceedings. Suffice to say that the diversity of the material nonetheless forms a
very coherent whole, in fitting tribute to Friedel. Indeed, these proceedings record
most of the 53 oral and 18 poster presentations in a remarkable volume of very
excellent material. The interdisciplinary nature of several presentations made it
difficult to assign some manuscripts to appropriate chapters. To facilitate the
search for a specific paper we have listed the papers under the name of the
presenting author (appending et al. in the case of multiple authorship). Quite
fittingly we have added after Chapter VIII several personal addresses that were
made at the conference dinner and during the Closing Ceremony.
A special attempt was launched to harness the manpower development opportunity
presented by the exposure of Southern African students to so many experienced
and well placed international delegates. This was done via a mentoring scheme,
partnering senior physicists to young physicists, to maximize their absorption of
the scientific material and development of international linkages. The stark beauty
of the Liideritz environment proved to be the ultimate ice-breaker, and the
international delegates took their mentoring responsibilities very seriously. The
students made their appreciation known in a moving impromptu speech at the
conference banquet. Once again, we have to thank our delegates not only for their
scientific contribution, but also for their mentoring role (which we know is
continuing in many cases) to the students at the conference.
What role can Science play in nurturing a culture of learning and developing the
human resources of Africa? In the light of the pan-African interests of Friedel
Sellschop, long before it became popular to do so, the conference appropriately
dedicated some sessions to exploring science policy issues relevant to research
capacity building and the "African Renaissance". We are indebted to the many
high ranking politicians and science policy makers from both South Africa and
Namibia, who gave their support to this aspect of the conference and travelled the
VII
long distance to the conference venue. In particular, Friedel's close friend, the
South African Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr. Ben
Ngubane, and his Director General, Dr. Rob Adam, participated in part of the
Conference. Dr Ben Ngubane spoke on the importance of developing a visionary
science and technology policy and what the South African government plans to do
in conjunction with similar efforts in the SADC region (Namibia, Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa).
The Namibian Deputy Minister on Higher Education, Training and Employment
Creation, the Hon. Buddy Wentworth, addressed this issue from the Namibian side.
The Regional Councillor for the Karas Region, the Hon. Fluksman Samuehl
addressed some of the opportumties and problems of the Karas Region around
Liideritz, and went on to propose that Friedel Sellschop should, with "the support
of the science fraternity", set up a center to be known as the "Professor Friedel
Sellschop Science Centre" in Namibia. Under "his wise guidance, such a center
could develop important links with other institutions of higher learning in
Southern Africa and elsewhere". Some of the contributions to the science policy
debate are archived within this volume.
While the essence of a conference and of the proceedings is the scientific material
presented in talks and subsequent papers, there wouldn't be a Conference or
proceedings without extensive sponsorship. The editors record the deep
appreciation of the Conference for the funding received from the various
organisations displayed on the previous page. Their contributions enabled the
Conference to support some of the international delegates, some of the Southern
African participants and also the student participation. In particular, their support
enabled the Conference to be held at the remote but beautiful venue of Liideritz. In
addition, several national research foundations and individual researchers funded
(in some cases) quite a number of researchers and/or graduate students, who could
otherwise not have come to Liideritz.
The idea of a conference in honour of Friedel Sellschop during the year of his 70th
birthday had its genesis during a discussion one of us (R.T.) had with Walter
Greiner on a rainy and cold day in the November of 1998, in Walter Greiner's
Frankfurt office. The sunny desert town of Liideritz was eventually chosen as the
Conference venue as it was indeed the birthplace of Friedel. It also formed a
backdrop for the partial focus on diamond physics as well as on development in
the Southern African region. Most importantly, it proved to be an outstanding
Conference venue, contributing to the scientific deliberations and the new
relationships and linkages that were forged, especially in respect of the students.
The logistical problems of organizing an international conference at a remote
venue with relatively little infrastructure were overcome by careful planning and
co-ordination. The organisers were deeply satisfied by the spirit and enthusiasm of
the delegates during the conference. The entire town of Liideritz participated in the
success of the conference and deserves our deepest appreciation.
VIII
We would like to thank the International Advisory Committee, chaired by Walter
Greiner, and the members of the Local Organizing Committee for their
contribution to the scholarly standard and organisation of Liideritz 2000.
Finally the secretarial help by Maddalena Teixeira, of the Nuclear and Elementary
Particle Theory Group, in getting all contributions in the correct format is highly
appreciated. The front and back page design is due to Susan Sellschop.
The editors, Johannesburg, March, 2001
Simon Connell and Rudolph Tegen
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE :
S. H. Connell, Johannesburg (Chair) J. Oyedele, Namibia
R. Tegen, Johannesburg (Vice-Chair) A. Paterson, Petoria
R. Adam, Johannesburg J. Sellschop, Johannesburg
K. Bharuth-Ram, Durban R. Sellschop, Johannesburg
R. Caveney, Johannesburg S. Sellschop, Johannesburg
N. Comins, Pretoria E. Sideras-Haddad, Johannesburg
M.D. Dlamini, Swaziland S. Sofianos, Pretoria
E. Friedland, Pretoria B. Spoelstra, Zululand
A.J. Lopes, Mozambique S. Tlali, Lesotho
C.C.P. Madiba, Pretoria R. Utui, Mozambique
J. Malherbe, Pretoria F. van der Walt, Pretoria
M. Mujaji, Zimbabwe Z. Z. Vililakazi, Cape Town
J.S. Nkoma, Botswana
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
W. Greiner, Germany (Chair) W.R. Kropp, USA
J. Als-Nielsen, Denmark H. Kanda, Japan
H.H. Andersen, Denmark A.E. Litherland, Canada
J-U. Andersen, Denmark J. Mayer, USA
T. Anthony, South Africa W. Mitchell, USA
R. Arndt, South Africa F. Plasil, USA
D.A. Bromley, USA A. Richter, Germany
W. Brown, USA W. Scheid, Germany
S.H. Connell, South Africa F. Seitz, USA
M.F. Da Silva, Portugal S. Sie, Australia
J.A. Davies, Canada P. Sigmund, Denmark
G. Dracoulis, Australia T. Suzuki, Japan
K. Elsener, Switzerland R. Tegen, South Africa
L. Feldman, USA C. Toepffer, Germany
A. Freund, France E. Uggerh<t>j, Denmark
E. Gadioli, Italy E. Vogt, Canada
J. Hamilton, USA A. Wolfendale, UK
M. Kamo, Japan J. Ziegler, USA
P. Kienle, Germany
IX
