'The book is primarily addressed to physicists. Nevertheless, as numerous examples are known in which exploration of the land where physics and mathematics overlap (and which quantum field theory definitely belongs to) resulted in important developments in mathematics, many mathematicians may also find this book interesting and even inspiring.'MathSciNetThis book is devoted to the subject of quantum field theory. It is divided into two volumes. The first can serve as a textbook on the main techniques and results of quantum field theory, while the second treats more recent developments, in particular the subject of quantum groups and noncommutative geometry, and their interrelation.The first volume is directed at graduate students who want to learn the basic facts about quantum field theory. It begins with a gentle introduction to classical field theory, including the standard model of particle physics, general relativity, and also supergravity. The transition to quantized fields is performed with path integral techniques, by means of which the one-loop renormalization of a self-interacting scalar quantum field, of quantum electrodynamics, and the asymptotic freedom of quantum chromodynamics is treated. In the last part of the first volume, the application of path integral methods to systems of quantum statistical mechanics is covered. The book ends with a rather detailed investigation of the fractional quantum Hall effect, and gives a stringent derivation of Laughlin's trial ground state wave function as an exact ground state.The second volume covers more advanced themes. In particular Connes' noncommutative geometry is dealt with in some considerable detail; the presentation attempts to acquaint the physics community with the substantial achievements that have been reached by means of this approach towards the understanding of the elusive Higgs particle. The book also covers the subject of quantum groups and its application to the fractional quantum Hall effect, as it is for this paradigmatic physical system that noncommutative geometry and quantum groups can be brought together.

The book is devoted to the subject of quantum field theory. It is divided into two volumes. The first volume can serve as a textbook on main techniques and results of quantum field theory, while the second treats more recent developments, in particular the subject of quantum groups and noncommutative geometry, and their interrelation.The second edition is extended by additional material, mostly concerning the impact of noncommutative geometry on theories beyond the standard model of particle physics, especially the possible role of torsion in the context of the dark matter problem. Furthermore, the text includes a discussion of the Randall-Sundrum model and the Seiberg-Witten equations.

Quantum field theory (QFT) provides the framework for many fundamental theories in modern physics, and over the last few years there has been growing interest in its historical and philosophical foundations. This anthology on the foundations of QFT brings together 15 essays by well-known researchers in physics, the philosophy of physics, and analytic philosophy.Many of these essays were first presented as papers at the conference “Ontological Aspects of Quantum Field Theory”, held at the Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF), Bielefeld, Germany. The essays contain cutting-edge work on ontological aspects of QFT, including: the role of measurement and experimental evidence, corpuscular versus field-theoretic interpretations of QFT, the interpretation of gauge symmetry, and localization.This book is ideally suited to anyone with an interest in the foundations of quantum physics, including physicists, philosophers and historians of physics, as well as general readers interested in philosophy or science.

A run-away bestseller from the moment it hit the market in late 1999. This impressive, thick softcover offers mathematicians and mathematical physicists the opportunity to learn about the beautiful and difficult subjects of quantum field theory and string theory. Cover features an intriguing cartoon that will bring a smile to its intended audience.

An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory is a textbook intended for the graduate physics course covering relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, and Feynman diagrams. The authors make these subjects accessible through carefully worked examples illustrating the technical aspects of the subject, and intuitive explanations of what is going on behind the mathematics. After presenting the basics of quantum electrodynamics, the authors discuss the theory of renormalization and its relation to statistical mechanics, and introduce the renormalization group. This discussion sets the stage for a discussion of the physical principles that underlie the fundamental interactions of elementary particle physics and their description by gauge field theories.

The book attempts to provide an introduction to quantum field theory emphasizing conceptual issues frequently neglected in more "utilitarian" treatments of the subject. The book is divided into four parts, entitled respectively "Origins", "Dynamics", "Symmetries", and "Scales". The emphasis is conceptual - the aim is to build the theory up systematically from some clearly stated foundational concepts - and therefore to a large extent anti-historical, but two historical Chapters ("Origins") are included to situate quantum field theory in the larger context of modern physical theories. The three remaining sections of the book follow a step by step reconstruction of this framework beginning with just a few basic assumptions: relativistic invariance, the basic principles of quantum mechanics, and the prohibition of physical action at a distance embodied in the clustering principle. The "Dynamics" section of the book lays out the basic structure of quantum field theory arising from the sequential insertion of quantum-mechanical, relativistic and locality constraints. The central role of symmetries in relativistic quantum field theories is explored in the third section of the book, while in the final section, entitled "Scales", we explore in detail the feature of quantum field theories most critical for their enormous phenomenological success - the scale separation property embodied by the renormalization group properties of a theory defined by an effective local Lagrangian.

Quantum field theory is the basic mathematical framework that is used to describe elementary particles. This textbook provides a complete and essential introduction to the subject. Assuming only an undergraduate knowledge of quantum mechanics and special relativity, this book is ideal for graduate students beginning the study of elementary particles. The step-by-step presentation begins with basic concepts illustrated by simple examples, and proceeds through historically important results to thorough treatments of modern topics such as the renormalization group, spinor-helicity methods for quark and gluon scattering, magnetic monopoles, instantons, supersymmetry, and the unification of forces. The book is written in a modular format, with each chapter as self-contained as possible, and with the necessary prerequisite material clearly identified. It is based on a year-long course given by the author and contains extensive problems, with password protected solutions available to lecturers at www.cambridge.org/9780521864497.