Particles Fields Quanta

This book provides an introduction to the current state of our knowledge about the structure of matter. Gerhard Ecker describes the development of modern physics from the beginning of the quantum age to the standard model of particle physics, the fundamental theory of interactions of the microcosm. The focus lies on the most important discoveries and developments, e.g. of quantum field theory, gauge theories and the future of particle physics. The author also emphasizes the interplay between theory and experiment, which helps us to explore the deepest mysteries of nature. "Particles, Fields, Quanta" is written for everyone who enjoys physics. It offers high school graduates and students of physics in the first semesters an encouragement to understand physics more deeply. Teachers and others interested in physics will find useful insights into the world of particle physics. For advanced students, the book can serve as a comprehensive preparation for lectures on particle physics and quantum field theory. A brief outline of the mathematical structures, an index of persons with research focuses and a glossary for quick reference of important terms such as gauge theory, spin and symmetry complete the book. From the foreword by Michael Springer: “The great successes and the many open questions this book describes illustrate how immensely complicated nature is and nevertheless how much we already understand of it.” The author Gerhard Ecker studied theoretical physics with Walter Thirring at the University of Vienna. His research focus has been on theoretical particle physics, in particular during several long-term visits at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Geneva. In 1986 he was promoted to Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Vienna. Since 1977 he has given both basic lectures in theoretical physics and advanced courses on different topics in particle physics, e.g., quantum field theory, symmetry groups in particle physics and renormalisation in quantum field theory.

The instant New York Times bestseller Quanta and Fields, the second book of Sean Carroll’s already internationally acclaimed series The Biggest Ideas in the Universe, is an adventure into the bare stuff of reality. Sean Carroll is creating a profoundly new approach to sharing physics with a broad audience, one that goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think. He cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in a uniquely accessible way. Quantum field theory is how modern physics describes nature at its most profound level. Starting with the basics of quantum mechanics itself, Sean Carroll explains measurement and entanglement before explaining how the world is really made of fields. You will finally understand why matter is solid, why there is antimatter, where the sizes of atoms come from, and why the predictions of quantum field theory are so spectacularly successful. Fundamental ideas like spin, symmetry, Feynman diagrams, and the Higgs mechanism are explained for real, not just through amusing stories. Beyond Newton, beyond Einstein, and all the intuitive notions that have guided homo sapiens for millennia, this book is a journey to a once unimaginable truth about what our universe is.

How can fundamental particles exist as waves in the vacuum? How can such waves have particle properties such as inertia? What is behind the notion of “virtual” particles? Why and how do particles exert forces on one another? Not least: What are forces anyway? These are some of the central questions that have intriguing answers in Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Unfortunately, these theories are highly mathematical, so that most people - even many scientists - are not able to fully grasp their meaning. This book unravels these theories in a conceptual manner, using more than 180 figures and extensive explanations and will provide the nonspecialist with great insights that are not to be found in the popular science literature.

This is an introductory book on elementary particles and their interactions. It starts out with many-body Schrödinger theory and second quantization and leads, via its generalization, to relativistic fields of various spins and to gravity. The text begins with the best known quantum field theory so far, the quantum electrodynamics of photon and electrons (QED). It continues by developing the theory of strong interactions between the elementary constituents of matter (quarks). This is possible due to the property called asymptotic freedom. On the way one has to tackle the problem of removing various infinities by renormalization. The divergent sums of infinitely many diagrams are performed with the renormalization group or by variational perturbation theory (VPT). The latter is an outcome of the Feynman-Kleinert variational approach to path integrals discussed in two earlier books of the author, one representing a comprehensive treatise on path integrals, the other dealing with critial phenomena. Unlike ordinary perturbation theory, VPT produces uniformly convergent series which are valid from weak to strong couplings, where they describe critical phenomena. The present book develops the theory of effective actions which allow to treat quantum phenomena with classical formalism. For example, it derives the observed anomalous power laws of strongly interacting theories from an extremum of the action. Their fluctuations are not based on Gaussian distributions, as in the perturbative treatment of quantum field theories, or in asymptotically-free theories, but on deviations from the average which are much larger and which obey power-like distributions. Exactly solvable models are discussed and their physical properties are compared with those derived from general methods. In the last chapter we discuss the problem of quantizing the classical theory of gravity. Contents: FundamentalsField Formulation of Many-Body Quantum PhysicsInteracting Nonrelativistic ParticlesFree Relativistic Particles and FieldsClassical RadiationRelativistic Particles and Fields in External Electromagnetic PotentialQuantization of Relativistic Free FieldsContinuous Symmetries and Conservation Laws. Noether's TheoremScattering and Decay of ParticlesQuantum Field Theoretic Perturbation TheoryExtracting Finite Results from Perturbation Series. Regularization, RenormalizationQuantum ElectrodynamicsFormal Properties of Perturbation TheoryFunctional-Integral Representation of Quantum Field TheorySystematic Graphical Construction of Feynman DiagramsSpontaneous Symmetry BreakdownScalar Quantum ElectrodynamicsExactly Solvable O(N)-Symmetric ϕ4-Theory for Large NNonlinear σ-ModelThe Renormalization GroupCritical Properties of Nonlinear σ-ModelFunctional-Integral Calculation of Effective Action. Loop ExpansionExactly Solvable O(N)-Symmetric Four-Fermion Theory in 2+ε Dimensions Internal Symmetries of Strong InteractionsSymmetries Linking Internal and Spacetime PropertiesHadronization of Quark TheoriesWeak InteractionsNonabelian Gauge Theory of Strong InteractionsCosmology with General Curvature-Dependent LagrangianEinstein Gravity from Fluctuating Conformal GravityPurely Geometric Part of Dark Matter Readership: Students and researchers in theoretical physics.

Choice Outstanding Title, September 2020 This book fills a gap in the middle ground between quantum mechanics of a single electron to the concept of a quantum field. In doing so, the book is divided into two parts; the first provides the necessary background to quantum theory extending from Planck’s formulation of black body radiation to Schrodinger’s equation; and the second part explores Dirac’s relativistic electron to quantum fields, finishing with an description of Feynman diagrams and their meaning. Much more than a popular account, yet not too heavy so as to be inaccessible, this book assumes no prior knowledge of quantum physics or field theory and provides the necessary foundations for readers to then progress to more advanced texts on quantum field theory. It will be of interest to undergraduate students in physics and mathematics, in addition to an interested, general audience. Features: Provides an extensive yet accessible background to the concepts Contains numerous, illustrative diagrams Presents in-depth explanations of difficult subjects

THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING SERIES ‘Neat, and extremely simple: only a deep thinker such as Sean Carroll could introduce the complexity of Einstein’s general relativity in such a luminous and straightforward manner.’ Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Immense, strange and infinite, the world of modern physics often feels impenetrable to the undiscerning eye – a jumble of muons, gluons and quarks, impossible to explain without several degrees and a research position at CERN. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Allow world-renowned theoretical physicist and bestselling author Sean Carroll to guide you through the biggest ideas in the universe. Elegant and simple, Carroll unravels a web of theory to get to the heart of the truths they represent about the world around us. — In Quanta and Fields, the second in this landmark trilogy, Carroll delves into the baffling and beautiful world of quantum mechanics. From Schrödinger to Feynman, Carroll travels through the quantum revolution with the greatest minds of the twentieth century. Exploring how several decades of research overturned centuries of convention, Carroll provides a dazzling tour of the most exciting ideas in modern science.

This novel approach is presented for the first time in book form. The author demonstrates that fundamental concepts and methods from phenomenological particle physics can be derived rigorously from well-defined general assumptions in a mathematically clean way.

The Quantum Theory of Fields, first published in 1996, is a self-contained, comprehensive introduction to quantum field theory from Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg. Volume II gives an account of the methods of quantum field theory, and how they have led to an understanding of the weak, strong, and electromagnetic interactions of the elementary particles. The presentation of modern mathematical methods is throughout interwoven with accounts of the problems of elementary particle physics and condensed matter physics to which they have been applied. Many topics are included that are not usually found in books on quantum field theory. The book is peppered with examples and insights from the author's experience as a leader of elementary particle physics. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter.