Cosmic Ray, Particle And Astroparticle Physics [antikvár]

FOREWORDThe brief period from September to December 1993 witnessed the inestimable loss of three great contemporary scientists, Bruno Pontecorvo, Bruno Rossi and Giuseppe Occhialini. They were not only prominent physicists who produced results of fundamental character in their own research fields: these were men who lived through momentous years, both in the development of science and in the destiny of mankind. The three of them were intensely involved in the often-tragic events of our era. They were dedicated teachers, and influenced the development of contemporary physics well beyond the circle of their many pupils.They were italians; but their activities flourished in an international context, and through some sort of destiny their lives often became interwoven.We would like to honour their message and their example with this Conference, which will be dedicated to an overview of those growth points of physics in which they had each been so active and so productive.The words reported above cite the reasons why an international meeting devoted to an overview of Cosmic Ray, Particle and Astroparticle Physics appeared to be a convenient way to honouring three prominent Italian physicists who all departed within a short time interval at the end of 1993. It was felt by the Organizing Committee that this overview should have been entrusted mainly, if not solely, to non-Italian scholars as a large, and even major, part of the activity of the three Italians was developed outside their country of origin. It is with great satisfaction and gratitude that the Organizing Committee acknowledges the prompt and dedicated acceptance on the part of the invited speakers who, with their talks and contribution to the discussions gave the meeting an atmosphere that was both lofty and warm.This conference was held in Florence because the three were Tuscans by birth or adoption. Rossi (born in Venice) and Occhialini (born in Fossombrone) initiated their careers as physicists in Florence between the late Twenties and the early Thirties, at the same time as Fermi was creating his group in Rome: there he would be joined by young Pontecorvo, who was born in Pisa. Indeed, as Valentin Telegdi informs us in his talk, Fermi himself had his first academic job in Florence from 1925 to 1927, before moving to Rome as a full professor of Theoretical Physics. He was replaced in Florence by Enrico Pérsico, his friend and classmate at the Scuola Nórmale Superiore in Pisa, who had also become a full professor of Theoretical Physics as a result of the same competition (the first chairs within that title in Italy). So, a remarkable connection was established between Florence and Rome and between the ten or so young people (all born