ABSTRACT
The “Standard Model” of elementary particle physics encompasses the progress that has been made in understanding the weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions. This chapter provides the ingredients of the standard model—the quarks and leptons and their interactions. It discusses the theory of charge-changing weak interactions and its unification with electromagnetism. Discovering the nature of the Higgs boson is a key to further progress in understanding what may lie beyond the Standard Model. The quark model was just beginning to emerge, and its successes at times seemed mysterious. The Standard Model of electroweak and strong interactions has been in place for nearly thirty years, but precise tests have entered a phase that permits glimpses of physics beyond the impressive structure, most likely associated with the yet-to-be discovered Higgs boson.
