Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted Amateur - Hardcover

Lancaster, Tom; Blundell, Stephen J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199699321 ISBN 13: 9780199699322

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Quantum field theory is arguably the most far-reaching and beautiful physical theory ever constructed, with aspects more stringently tested and verified to greater precision than any other theory in physics. Unfortunately, the subject has gained a notorious reputation for difficulty, with forbidding looking mathematics and a peculiar diagrammatic language described in an array of unforgiving, weighty textbooks aimed firmly at aspiring professionals. However, quantum field theory is too important, too beautiful, and too engaging to be restricted to the professionals. This book on quantum field theory is designed to be different. It is written by experimental physicists and aims to provide the interested amateur with a bridge from undergraduate physics to quantum field theory. The imagined reader is a gifted amateur, possessing a curious and adaptable mind, looking to be told an entertaining and intellectually stimulating story, but who will not feel patronised if a few mathematical niceties are spelled out in detail. Using numerous worked examples, diagrams, and careful physically motivated explanations, this book will smooth the path towards understanding the radically different and revolutionary view of the physical world that quantum field theory provides, and which all physicists should have the opportunity to experience.

To request a copy of the Solutions Manual, visit http://global.oup.com/uk/academic/physics/admin/solutions.

About this title

About the Author:

Tom Lancaster, Lecturer in Physics, Department of Physics, University of Durham,Stephen J. Blundell, Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

Tom Lancaster was a Research Fellow in Physics at the University of Oxford, before becoming a Lecturer at the University of Durham in 2012.
Stephen J. Blundell is a Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.

Review:

"There is a need for a book on Quantum Field Theory that is not directed at specialists but, rather, sets out the concepts underlying this subject for a broader scientific audience and conveys joy in their beauty. Lancaster and Blundell have written with this goal in mind, and they have succeeded admirably." --Michael Peskin, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University

"This wonderful and exciting book is optimal for physics graduate students. ... The physical explanations are exceedingly well written and integrated with mathematics. Quantum field theory is the next big thing and this book will help the reader to understand and use the theory." --Optics & Photonics News

"A refreshing hands-on approach ..[and] a tremendous resource to have to hand or perhaps to use as a textbook for a first course on QFT to a mixed audience." -- Physics Today, May 2016

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199699321
• ISBN 13: 9780199699322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512