Professor Chris Llewelyn-Smith provides a detailed account of Don Perkins' contributions to particle physics, his role as a leading figure, and his impact on the field through his work on neutrino interactions and particle physics.
Notes to accompany Prof Llewellyn-Smith's talk:
https://media.podcasts.ox.ac.uk/physics/don-perkins/2024-03-14-physics-don-perkins-charged-currents-llewellyn-smith-notes.pdf
Professor Chris Llewelyn-Smith delves into Don Perkins' significant contributions to particle physics, particularly in charged current neutrino interactions. He recounts Don's early work on designing a narrow band neutrino beam and his involvement in the race to test the two neutrino hypothesis. He also discusses experiments at CERN, the discovery of two neutrinos, and the search for the W Boson.
Don's analysis of freon and propane data from CERN experiments, which suggested point-like behaviour of particles, is mentioned alongside theoretical developments by Kurt Cullen and David Gross. Llewelyn-Smith delves into the experimental results and analyses conducted by Don and his colleagues, including the increase of the inelastic cross section with energy and the testing of PCAC, elastic scattering, and single pion production.
The discovery of neutral currents and the reanalysis of early events in light of the Gargamelle results are discussed, as well as Llewelyn Smith's personal interactions with Don Perkins, reflecting on his character and approach to physics.
