The "principle of the fermionic projector" provides a new mathematical framework for the formulation of physical theories and is a promising approach for physics beyond the standard model. This book begins with a brief review of relativity, relativistic quantum mechanics, and classical gauge theories, emphasizing the basic physical concepts and mathematical foundations. The external field problem and Klein's paradox are discussed and then resolved by introducing the fermionicprojector, a global object in space-time that generalizes the notion of the Dirac sea. At the mathematical core of the book is a precise definition of the fermionic projector and the use of methods of hyperbolic differential equations for detailed analysis. The fermionic projector makes it possible toformulate a new type of variational principle in space-time. The mathematical tools are developed for the analysis of the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations. A particular variational principle is proposed that gives rise to an effective interaction which shows many similarities to the interactions of the standard model. The main chapters of the book are easily accessible for beginning graduate students in mathematics or physics. Several appendices provide supplementary material, which willbe useful to the experienced researcher.

This monograph introduces the basic concepts of the theory of causal fermion systems, a recent approach to the description of fundamental physics. The theory yields quantum mechanics, general relativity and quantum field theory as limiting cases and is therefore a candidate for a unified physical theory. From the mathematical perspective, causal fermion systems provide a general framework for describing and analyzing non-smooth geometries and "quantum geometries". The dynamics is described by a novel variational principle, called the causal action principle. In addition to the basics, the book provides all the necessary mathematical background and explains how the causal action principle gives rise to the interactions of the standard model plus gravity on the level of second-quantized fermionic fields coupled to classical bosonic fields. The focus is on getting a mathematically sound connection between causal fermion systems and physical systems in Minkowski space. The book is intended for graduate students entering the field, and is furthermore a valuable reference work for researchers in quantum field theory and quantum gravity.

The present volume emerged from the 3rd `Blaubeuren Workshop: Recent Developments in Quantum Field Theory', held in July 2007 at the Max Planck Institute of Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig/Germany. All of the contributions are committed to the idea of this workshop series: To bring together outstanding experts working in the field of mathematics and physics to discuss in an open atmosphere the fundamental questions at the frontier of theoretical physics.