For particle physics neophytes (and even more seasoned veterans) I recommend the online tutorial The Particle Adventure. It's an easy read, yet covers a lot of the main issues and terminology that you need to know. Elsewhere, a nice history of neutrinos is available, as is a discussion of big bang science.
Unfortunately, while these descriptive discussions are very good,
there are few brief introductions to particle physics
that are written at a higher level, i.e., assuming a graduate knowledge
of physics but not a prior knowledge of particle physics.
If you are aware of such a review, please let me know!
For now, the best I can do is to recommend the
the introductory but not-so-brief text:
Perkins, Introduction to High-Energy Physics (probably on reserve
for Physics 470).
The Boyd text has a nice and very accessible introduction to cosmology.
A good online introduction is this cosmology tutorial.
The questions are really meant to help guide your thinking as you read. You may find it helpful to look at the questions first and bear them in mind as you read.
What explains this difference?
Why do beta-decays lead to a spectrum of electron energies? What are the maximum and minimum energy values?
What conservation law(s) (if any) prevents the spontaneous decay of a dueteron to a proton and neutron?
Protons and electrons are observed to be stable, i.e.,
no spontaneous proton or electron decay has ever been observed.
What conservation law(s) prevent protons from decaying (into, e.g.,
photons)?
What conservation law(s) prevent electrons from decaying
(into, e.g., photons)?
What conservation laws (if any) apply to the decays of
charged pions?
What are the main similarities and differences among the three generations of fundamental particles? What is special about the first generation?
How does the expansion of the Universe depend on the particle content of the universe?
What material did you find difficult, confusing, or unclear? What material would you like to know more about?
Other questions or comments?