Sidney D. Drell

Partons and their Applications at High-Energies

We discuss Feynmans parton model for deep inelastic weak or electromagnetic processes as an application of the impulse approximation to elementary particle interactions. The special features and conditions permitting this application are elaborated upon in some detail including the dependence of the parton model and the impulse treatment on an appropriate choice of coordinate frames and the role of the very soft or “wee” partons. Application of the parton model is made to the calculation of the cross section for massive lepton pair production in very high energy hadron-hadron collisions and compared with experiment. The conjectured role of light cone singularities in describing this and the other deep inelastic amplitudes is also discussed.

ELECTRODYNAMIC PROCESSES WITH NUCLEAR TARGETS

Abstract It is known that two general form factors depending on energy loss and momentum transfer characterize inelastic electron scattering from nuclei in the first Born approximation in α = 1 137 . The same two form factors appear in all electrodynamic processes connected by one photon exchange with nuclei. This observation is used to compute cross sections and to discuss experiments which are aimed at probing electrodynamics by scattering or pair producing electrons or muons from nuclear targets.

Quantum electrodynamics at small distances

Abstract The validity of quantum electrodynamics (Q.E.D.) at small distances is discussed in the light of present experimental information. Large angle pair production in hydrogen, together with elastic electron-proton scattering, is analyzed as a means of obtaining further information on the small distance behavior of Q.E.D.

In the Shadow of the Bomb: Bethe, Oppenheimer, and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist

Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii INTRODUCTION 3 1. WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT? 28 2. J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER 42 Oppenheimer and the Ethical Culture Movement 42 The Agenda of the Ethical Culture Society 46 The Teaching of Ethics at the School 50 The Maturation of Oppenheimer 53 Becoming a Physicist: Oppenheimer and His School 61 3. HANS BETHE 76 Becoming a Bildungstrager 76 Becoming a Physicist: Arnold Sommerfeld 87 Wholeness and Stability 91 Los Alamos 104 Bethe and Oppenheimer: Their Entanglement 107 4.THE CHALLENGE OF McCARTHYISM 115 The Bernard Peters Case 115 The Philip Morrison Case 130 Some Concluding Comments 146 5.NUCLEAR WEAPONS 149 Atomic Bombs 149 Hydrogen Bombs 156 PSAC and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 168 6.ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY 178 EPILOGUE 183 Notes to the Chapters 187 Bibliography 239 Index 257

Civil defense in limited war—a debate

Civil defense, once a hotly debated issue of the 1960s, has again surfaced as a topic of controversy. It reappears amid the discussions of possible new strategies being proposed by the Defense Department. In January 1974, the then Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger announced the intention of the US to develop long‐range ballistic missiles of unprecedented accuracy. Because such weapons would have a relatively small error radius their yield would not have to be as large to be effective against military targets such as land‐based offensive missiles. Hence the Defense Department has raised the possibility of a limited nuclear war with counterforce strikes (that is, against the opponents offensive force) coupled with a program of civil defense to ensure a minimal level of civilian casualties.

When is a Particle

Mans effort to understand what we and our world are made of is one of the greatest adventure stories of the human race. It dates from the beginning of recorded history. Science first flourished 2500 years ago with the quest of the early Greek philosophers for an underlying unity to the rich diversity observed in world around them. They realized that the search for an understanding of Nature at a fundamental level in terms of basic processes and constituents necessarily carried them beyond the sensory world of appearance.

The Reagan strategic defense initiative: A technical, political, and arms control assessment

This study examines SDI in the overall context of the U.S.-Soviet strategic posture and concludes with recommendations on how best to integrate SDI research into the requirements of the ABM commitments.

Preserving the ABM Treaty: A Critique of the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative

I n his speech on March 23, 1983, President Reagan offered a vision of escape from grim reliance on the threat of retaliation to deter aggression and prevent nuclear war: “What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our soil or that of our allies?” The way to realize this vision, he said, was to ”embark on a program to counter the awesome Soviet missile threat with measures that are defensive. . . . I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.”’ This vision appeals to powerful moral sentiments. The impulse to look to our weapons and armed forces to defend ourselves rather than threaten others is a natural one, and is not new. At a press conference in London on February 9, 1967, the Soviet Premier A.N. Kosygin said: ”I think that a defensive system which prevents attack is not a cause of the arms race. . . . its purpose is not to kill people but to save human lives.”2 Two years later President kchard Nixon, in explaining his reluctant decision to forgo a nationwide anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense in favor of the limited Safe-

Special Issue: On Physics and National Security

Fundamental decisions affecting US national policy—be they about health, economics, or national security—are made by duly elected national leaders and are based predominantly, but not exclusively, on their political judgment. These leaders must also have access to solid scientific and technical information to help infrom their decisions. Gaining an understanding of physical and technical realities is crucial to distinguish goals that may be achieved from goals that are wishful thinking.

In the Shadow of the Bomb: Physics and Arms Control

Section heads Physics Physicists Sakharov Cold War Years Deterrence and Arms Control Star Wars and Scientists Progress Prospects after the Cold War.