This graduate text introduces relativistic quantum theory, emphasising its important applications in condensed matter physics. Relativistic quantum theory is the unification into a consistent theory of Einstein's theory of relativity and the quantum mechanics of Bohr, Schrödinger, and Heisenberg, etc. Beginning with basic theory, the book then describes essential topics. Many worked examples and exercises are included along with an extensive reference list. This clear account of a crucial topic in science will be valuable to graduates and researchers working in condensed matter physics and quantum physics.

This is one of the very few books focusing on relativistic statistical mechanics, and is written by a leading expert in this special field. It started from the notion of relativistic kinetic theory, half a century ago, exploding into relativistic statistical mechanics. This will interest specialists of various fields, especially the (classical and quantum) plasma physics. However, quantum physics — to which a major part is devoted — will be of more interest since, not only it applies to quantum plasma physics, but also to nuclear matter and to strong magnetic field, cosmology, etc. Although the domain of gauge theory is not covered in this book, the topic is not completely forgotten, in particular in the domain of plasma physics. This book is particularly readable for graduate students and a fortiori to young researchers for whom it offers methods and also appropriate schemes to deal with the current problems encountered in astrophysics, in strong magnetic, in nuclear or even in high energy physics.

In 1941, E.C.G. Stueckelberg wrote a paper, based on ideas of V. Fock, that established the foundations of a theory that could covariantly describe the classical and quantum relativistic mechanics of a single particle. Horwitz and Piron extended the applicability of this theory in 1973 (to be called the SHP theory) to the many-body problem. It is the purpose of this book to explain this development and provide examples of its applications. We first review the basic ideas of the SHP theory, both classical and quantum, and develop the appropriate form of electromagnetism on this dynamics. After studying the two body problem classically and quantum mechanically, we formulate the N-body problem. We then develop the general quantum scattering theory for the N-body problem and prove a quantum mechanical relativistically covariant form of the Gell-Mann-Low theorem. The quantum theory of relativistic spin is then developed, including spin-statistics, providing the necessary apparatus for Clebsch-Gordan additivity, and we then discuss the phenomenon of entanglement at unequal times. In the second part, we develop relativistic statistical mechanics, including a mechanism for stability of the off-shell mass, and a high temperature phase transition to the mass shell. Finally, some applications are given, such as the explanation of the Lindneret alexperiment, the proposed experiment of Palacios et al which should demonstrate relativistic entanglement (at unequal times), the space-time lattice, low energy nuclear reactions and applications to black hole physics.

This book provides an introduction to Newtonian and relativistic mechanics. Unlike other books on the topic, which generally take a 'top-down' approach, it follows a novel system to show how the concepts of the 'science of motion' evolved through a veritable jungle of intermediate ideas and concepts. Starting with Aristotelian philosophy, the text gradually unravels how the human mind slowly progressed towards the fundamental ideas of inertia physics. The concepts that now appear so obvious to even a high school student took great intellectuals more than a millennium to clarify. The book explores the evolution of these concepts through the history of science. After a comprehensive overview of the discovery of dynamics, it explores fundamental issues of the properties of space and time and their relation with the laws of motion. It also explores the concepts of spatio-temporal locality and fields, and offers a philosophical discussion of relative motion versus absolute motion, as well as the concept of an absolute space. Furthermore, it presents Galilean transformation and the principle of relativity, inadequacy of Galilean relativity and emergence of the spatial theory of relativity with an emphasis on physical understanding, as well as the debate over relative motion versus absolute motion and Mach's principle followed by the principle of equivalence. The natural follow-on to this section is the physical foundations of general theory of relativity. Lastly, the book ends with some new issues and possibilities regarding further modifications of the laws of motion leading to the solution of a number of fundamental issues closely connected with the characteristics of the cosmos. It is a valuable resource for undergraduate students of physics, engineering, mathematics, and related disciplines. It is also suitable for interdisciplinary coursework and introductory reading outside the classroom.

In this text the authors develop a propagator theory of Dirac particles, photons, and Klein-Gordon mesons and per- form a series of calculations designed to illustrate various useful techniques and concepts in electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions. these include defining and implementing the renormalization program and evaluating effects of radia- tive corrections, such as the Lamb shift, in low-order calculations. The necessary background for the book is pro- vided by a course in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics at the general level of Schiff's text, QUANTUM MECHANICS.

Quantum physics and special relativity theory were two of the greatest breakthroughs in physics during the twentieth century and contributed to paradigm shifts in physics. This book combines these two discoveries to provide a complete description of the fundamentals of relativistic quantum physics, guiding the reader effortlessly from relativistic quantum mechanics to basic quantum field theory. The book gives a thorough and detailed treatment of the subject, beginning with the classification of particles, the Klein–Gordon equation and the Dirac equation. It then moves on to the canonical quantization procedure of the Klein–Gordon, Dirac and electromagnetic fields. Classical Yang–Mills theory, the LSZ formalism, perturbation theory, elementary processes in QED are introduced, and regularization, renormalization and radiative corrections are explored. With exercises scattered through the text and problems at the end of most chapters, the book is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in theoretical physics.

* Which problems do arise within relativistic enhancements of the Schrödinger theory, especially if one adheres to the usual one-particle interpretation? * To what extent can these problems be overcome? * What is the physical necessity of quantum field theories? In many textbooks, only insufficient answers to these fundamental questions are provided by treating the relativistic quantum mechanical one-particle concept very superficially and instead introducing field quantization as soon as possible. By contrast, this book emphasizes particularly this point of view (relativistic quantum mechanics in the ''narrow sense''): it extensively discusses the relativistic one-particle view and reveals its problems and limitations, therefore illustrating the necessity of quantized fields in a physically comprehensible way. The first two chapters contain a detailed presentation and comparison of the Klein-Gordon and Dirac theory, always with a view to the non-relativistic theory. In the third chapter, we consider relativistic scattering processes and develop the Feynman rules from propagator techniques. This is where the indispensability of quantum field theory reasoning becomes apparent and basic quantum field theory concepts are introduced. This textbook addresses undergraduate and graduate Physics students who are interested in a clearly arranged and structured presentation of relativistic quantum mechanics in the "narrow sense" and its connection to quantum field theories. Each section contains a short summary and exercises with solutions. A mathematical appendix rounds out this excellent textbook on relativistic quantum mechanics.