Quantum Field Theory And Parastatistics

A concise, beginner-friendly introduction to quantum field theory Quantum field theory is a powerful framework that extends quantum mechanics in ways that are essential in many modern applications. While it is the fundamental formalism for the study of many areas of physics, quantum field theory requires a different way of thinking, and many newcomers to the subject struggle with the transition from quantum mechanics. A Prelude to Quantum Field Theory introduces the key concepts of quantum field theory in a brief and accessible manner while never sacrificing mathematical rigor. The result is an easy-to-use textbook that distills the most general properties of the theory without overwhelming beginning students with more advanced applications. Bridges quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, emphasizing analogies and differences Emphasizes a “quantum field theoretical mindset” while maintaining mathematical rigor Obtains quantum fields as the continuum limit of a quantized system of many particles Highlights the correspondence between wave function—fundamental in quantum mechanics—and the formalism of second quantization used in quantum field theory Provides a step-by-step derivation of Feynman rules for the perturbative study of interacting theories Introduces students to renormalization, path integrals techniques, and more Discusses more modern topics like effective field theories Ideal for both undergraduate and graduate students Proven in the classroom

The book deals with quantum field theory which is the language of the modern physics of elementary particles. Written based on university lectures given by the author, the book provides treatments and technical details of quantum field theory, which will be particularly useful for students. The book starts with the quantization of the most important kind of free fields (the scalar, the spin-1/2 and the photon fields). It is then followed by a detailed account of the symmetry properties of a field theory and a discussion on global and local symmetries and the spontaneous breaking of symmetries. Other topics discussed include the perturbation theory, one-loop effects for quantum electrodynamics, and renormalization properties.

Providing a systematic introduction to the techniques which are fundamental to quantum field theory, this book pays special attention to the use of these techniques in a wide variety of areas, including ordinary quantum mechanics, quantum mechanics in the second-quantized formulation, relativistic quantum field theory, Euclidean field theory, quant

Based on a two-semester course held at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, this book provides a solid basis for postgraduate students wishing to obtain a more profound understanding of the foundations of Quantum Field Theory. The book covers a wide spectrum of topics ranging from traditional operator and modern path integral methods, to different regularization and renormalization methods, asymptotic behavior of Green functions, a particular view on the Renormalization Group, and spontaneous symmetry breaking in effective potentials. Much effort has been made to present the material in a transparent, detailed and structured way, which should help the reader to follow the material.

This comprehensive introduction to the many-body theory was written by three renowned physicists and acclaimed by American Scientist as "a classic text on field theoretic methods in statistical physics."

"The book is very different from other books devoted to quantum field theory, both in the style of exposition and in the choice of topics. Written for both mathematicians and physicists, the author explains the theoretical formulation with a mixture of rigorous proofs and heuristic arguments; references are given for those who are looking for more details. The author is also careful to avoid ambiguous definitions and statements that can be found in some physics textbooks. In terms of topics, almost all other books are devoted to relativistic quantum field theory, conversely this book is concentrated on the material that does not depend on the assumptions of Lorentz-invariance and/or locality. It contains also a chapter discussing application of methods of quantum field theory to statistical physics, in particular to the derivation of the diagram techniques that appear in thermo-field dynamics and Keldysh formalism. It is not assumed that the reader is familiar with quantum mechanics; the book contains a short introduction to quantum mechanics for mathematicians and an appendix devoted to some mathematical facts used in the book"--Publisher's description