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.
An Introduction To Quantum Field Theory
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About the Author
Michael E. Peskin received his doctorate in physics from Cornell University and has held research appointments in theoretical physics at Harvard, Cornell, and CEN Saclay. In 1982, he joined the staff of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, where he is now Professor of Physics. Daniel V. Schroeder received his doctorate in physics from Stanford University in 1990. He held visiting appointments at Pomona College before joining the faculty of Weber State University, where he is now Associate Professor of Physics. Michael E. Peskin received his doctorate in physics from Cornell University and has held research appointments in theoretical physics at Harvard, Cornell, and CEN Saclay. In 1982, he joined the staff of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, where he is now Professor of Physics. Daniel V. Schroeder received his doctorate in physics from Stanford University in 1990. He held visiting appointments at Pomona College before joining the faculty of Weber State University, where he is now Associate Professor of Physics.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
By "jackaroe"
Format:Hardcover
This is a difficult book to review. That a detailed study of several textbooks is needed for a thorough introduction to QFT is a well-known maxim among students of the subject. Every QFT text excels in some areas and struggles in others, and Peskin and Schroeder's book (P&S) is no exception. P&S chooses to emphasize performing calculations in the Standard Model (SM), and the chapters pertaining to this topic are excellent. Chapters 5 and 6, covering tree and one-loop calculations in QED, are invaluable, as are chapters 20 and 21, which detail the electroweak theory.
Several of the formal aspects of QFT are shunted in P&S, as must something be neglected in every QFT text that is stable against gravitational collapse. The general representation theory of the Lorentz group is the most glaring omission in P&S. Chapter 1 of Ramond's "Field Theory: A Modern Primer" treats this topic quite well. The LSZ reduction formulae are derived and discussed more clearly in Pokorski's "Gauge Field Theories", as are BRST symmetry and free field theory. For those interested in undertaking detailed phenomenological studies of the SM or some extension thereof, Vernon Barger's "Collider Physics" is also recommended.
Despite its shortcomings, P&S remains the best QFT reference currently available. It's the book I turn to first when confronted in research papers with field theoretic puzzle that I just can't crack. If you buy only one QFT text, buy P&S.
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I worked through the most of this book in explicit detail (the only way to get the full benefit, in my humble opinion), and, while it was very good at teaching the methods for deriving and computing Feynman diagrams, it often sacrifices pedagogy for explicit calculation. For instance, while there is a brief discussion of representations of the Lorentz group, the book gives no indication of how to construct and work with fields of higher spin. Also, I found their discussion of the LSZ reduction formulae rather impenetrable. (Their discussion of BRST symmetry, in contrast, is very readable and easily understood.) So, while I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to do calculations in quantum field theory, it is imperative that they supplement this book with other sources that treat important topics, like the CPT theorem, general representation theory, and non-perturbative phenomena (which are barely mentioned here), in detail. (Also, there are a rather large number of unfortunate typos in the first edition...)
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By PT
Format:Hardcover
The main problem of this book: what exactly is it supposed to be?
If it is an introduction, then the opening chapters are written at a level too sophisticated that an average first-time student can't handle.
If it aims to be a "bible" of the subject, then the later chapters are far too technical, loaded with only Feynman diagram calculations for standard model. Not being a phenomenologist, I personally have very little interest in all the technical detail, and apparently several other reviewers share my view here.
Now let me gives some examples to support my claim.
First, C, P and T symmetries are introduced very early on (right after Dirac spinor), and in a very formal way. Yes, they logically belong there, but in an "introduction" of the subject you don't throw out an isolated topic like this which you don't make use of in the following few hundred pages.
The part on cannonical quantization is written at a very fast pace. A complex scalar field is probably the first model you can construct with charged particles. And guess what kind of treatment it receives in this book? Not a single word in the main text. The problem 2 of that chapter essentially asks you to work out the content of this model with few hints given. If you have troble working it out, which is not uncommon for a first-timer, then you won't see the logic behind the decomposition of a complex Dirac field either. This is done in the following chapter, with no explaination.
Like the charged scalar field example, some important pieces of knowledge are hidden only in the exercises. So if you treat these high-power opening chapters as your bible-type reference, you will often end up in the frustrating situation that the book tells you to work out by yourself what you are seeking in the first place.
Now get to the later parts of the book. As I mentioned above, the second half of the book is almost conceptually too simple, overloaded with technical details.
This downfall begins around the renormalization group. On the back of this book, this Prof. Micheal Dine is qouted: "it is the only field theory text with a thoroughly modern, Wilsonian treatment of renormalization". The connection between the Wilsonian idea and dimensional regularization/renormalization scale is shaky at best. You read the text, and are left puzzled at the magic: how does a cut-off scale become some (much lower) arbitrary momentum scale? No explaination. The Wilsonian theory is completely isolated and have little connection with the rest of the renormalization section.
Furthermore, the book does not do a very good job on Lie algebra and non-abilien Lie groups. I mean, come on, if this is an "introduction" type of book, make it more readable. If this is a "bible" type of book, make it more comprehensive.
Having voiced all my bad opinions, I have to admit that the book has its merit. Bottom line is, this is a book written by phenomenologists for phenomenologists. If you view it from such an angle, it is not too badly written after all, and does cover most of the important topics a phnomenologist would want to know. But you may want to start from a more accessible text such as Ryder.
If you are a theorist, but not a phenomenologist, then, well, let's say the ability of getting through the first part perfectly is the minimum requirement for your research.
If you are an experimentalist, don't bother.
If it is an introduction, then the opening chapters are written at a level too sophisticated that an average first-time student can't handle.
If it aims to be a "bible" of the subject, then the later chapters are far too technical, loaded with only Feynman diagram calculations for standard model. Not being a phenomenologist, I personally have very little interest in all the technical detail, and apparently several other reviewers share my view here.
Now let me gives some examples to support my claim.
First, C, P and T symmetries are introduced very early on (right after Dirac spinor), and in a very formal way. Yes, they logically belong there, but in an "introduction" of the subject you don't throw out an isolated topic like this which you don't make use of in the following few hundred pages.
The part on cannonical quantization is written at a very fast pace. A complex scalar field is probably the first model you can construct with charged particles. And guess what kind of treatment it receives in this book? Not a single word in the main text. The problem 2 of that chapter essentially asks you to work out the content of this model with few hints given. If you have troble working it out, which is not uncommon for a first-timer, then you won't see the logic behind the decomposition of a complex Dirac field either. This is done in the following chapter, with no explaination.
Like the charged scalar field example, some important pieces of knowledge are hidden only in the exercises. So if you treat these high-power opening chapters as your bible-type reference, you will often end up in the frustrating situation that the book tells you to work out by yourself what you are seeking in the first place.
Now get to the later parts of the book. As I mentioned above, the second half of the book is almost conceptually too simple, overloaded with technical details.
This downfall begins around the renormalization group. On the back of this book, this Prof. Micheal Dine is qouted: "it is the only field theory text with a thoroughly modern, Wilsonian treatment of renormalization". The connection between the Wilsonian idea and dimensional regularization/renormalization scale is shaky at best. You read the text, and are left puzzled at the magic: how does a cut-off scale become some (much lower) arbitrary momentum scale? No explaination. The Wilsonian theory is completely isolated and have little connection with the rest of the renormalization section.
Furthermore, the book does not do a very good job on Lie algebra and non-abilien Lie groups. I mean, come on, if this is an "introduction" type of book, make it more readable. If this is a "bible" type of book, make it more comprehensive.
Having voiced all my bad opinions, I have to admit that the book has its merit. Bottom line is, this is a book written by phenomenologists for phenomenologists. If you view it from such an angle, it is not too badly written after all, and does cover most of the important topics a phnomenologist would want to know. But you may want to start from a more accessible text such as Ryder.
If you are a theorist, but not a phenomenologist, then, well, let's say the ability of getting through the first part perfectly is the minimum requirement for your research.
If you are an experimentalist, don't bother.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle
W/r to the Kindle edition:
Why would you buy the Kindle edition for $50 when the original hardback print is $70? Read more
Why would you buy the Kindle edition for $50 when the original hardback print is $70? Read more
Published 18 months ago by Tyler Corbett
2.0 out of 5 stars
Contains everything but in the price of lacking clarity
I understand that writing a textbook for Quantum Field Theory is a very difficult task but I feel that Peskin and Schroeder didn't write a textbook but rather an extensive... Read more
Published 19 months ago by athen not
5.0 out of 5 stars
Physics
This is an introductory book for quantum physics, it's very recommended and the unit sent to me it's brand new. Read more
Published on January 1, 2011 by Richard
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good book for those who have read Ryder or its equivalent, with an...
Peskin and Schroeder's book seems to be the standard text for courses in quantum field theory these days. Read more
Published on November 11, 2010 by Ulfilas
1.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition Review
The typesetting is terrible in the kindle edition:
1) Equations appear as a (low quality) scan- they are rather gray and the resolution is bad. Read more
1) Equations appear as a (low quality) scan- they are rather gray and the resolution is bad. Read more
Published on August 18, 2010 by PhysicsNerd
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hammer, saw and screwdriver
This is the ideal book to use a basis for learning QFT. That isn't to say that it's the only book that you'll need or that it can replace a course on QFT, but the good thing about... Read more
Published on May 25, 2010 by Vishal Kasliwal
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed feelings about it...
Having started reading QFT as an undergrad from textbooks like Mandl and Shaw, I was reluctant to use this one, even while it was the recommended textbook of a graduate course in... Read more
Published on August 22, 2008 by Charalampos S. Mpogdanos
2.0 out of 5 stars
poor
even years later now i still really dont like this book.
there is a gap in 1st year grad courses and this book. Read more
there is a gap in 1st year grad courses and this book. Read more
Published on April 15, 2008 by chicken head cut off
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect.
I received the book as it should be: knew. And it cames before the estimated time.
Published on August 10, 2007 by Pedro Brandimarte
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wow, does this suck . . . get a different book!
Ok--I just need to help lower the overall rating for this book. I think the people who love it are professors and students who already are familiar with QFT--because it glosses... Read more
Published on June 12, 2007 by NP
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