An Introduction To Quantum Field Theory (Frontiers in Physics) (Hardcover)

by Michael E. Peskin (Author), Dan V. Schroeder (Author) "The main purpose of Part I of this book is to develop the basic calculational method of quantum field theory, the formalism of Feynman diagrams..." (more)
Key Phrases: electron vertex function, boson equivalence theorem, weak interaction gauge theory, Dirac Lagrangian, Some Formal Developments, The Parton Model of Hadron Structure (more...)

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Product Description
This book is a clear and comprehensive introduction to quantum field theory, one that develops the subject systematically from its beginnings. The book builds on calculation techniques toward an explanation of the physics of renormalization.

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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Product Details Hardcover: 864 pages Publisher: Westview Press (October 1, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 0201503972 ISBN-13: 978-0201503975 Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.8 inches Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,574 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #12 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Waves & Wave Mechanics #12 in  Books > Science > Physics > Waves & Wave Mechanics #76 in  Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Quantum Theory

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First Sentence:
The main purpose of Part I of this book is to develop the basic calculational method of quantum field theory, the formalism of Feynman diagrams. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
electron vertex function, boson equivalence theorem, weak interaction gauge theory, gauge boson mass matrix, counterterm vertices, nonlocal divergence, weak interaction vertex, vacuum polarization amplitude, collinear photon emission, ferinion fields, scalar field propagator, axial isospin currents, bare perturbation theory, divergent logarithms, vertex counterterm, divergent amplitudes, physical polarization states, operator product coefficients, gauge boson vertex, critical scaling laws, higher correlation functions, longitudinal fraction, sigma matrices, renormalized perturbation theory, transverse polarization states

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dirac Lagrangian, Some Formal Developments, The Parton Model of Hadron Structure, Harmonic Oscillators, Particle Data Group, Path Integrals, Two-Loop Example, Feynman-'t Hooft, World Scientific

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 31 books:

• Quantum Electrodynamics (Advanced Book Classics) by Richard P. Feynman on 7 pages
• Introduction to Gauge Field Theory Revised Edition (Graduate Student Series in Physics) by D. Bailin in Back Matter
• Quantum Mechanics (International Pure & Applied Physics Series) by L. I. Schiff in Back Matter
• The Birth of Particle Physics by Laurie M. Brown in Front Matter
• Introduction to Elementary Particles by David Griffiths in Back Matter

See all 31 books this book cites

 

85 books cite this book:

• Weak Scale Supersymmetry: From Superfields to Scattering Events by Howard Baer on 6 pages
• Particle Physics And Cosmology: The Quest For Physics Beyond The Standard Model(s) : Tasi 2002 Boulder, Colorado, USA3 2- 28 June 2002 by Howard E. Haber on page 186, page 297, and page 597
• Supersymmetry and String Theory: Beyond the Standard Model by Michael Dine on page 59, page 73, and Back Matter
• A Modern Introduction to Particle Physics (High Energy Physics) by Fayyazuddin on page 255, page 481, and Back Matter
• Journeys Beyond The Standard Model (Frontiers in Physics) by Pierre Ramond in Front Matter, and Back Matter

See all 85 books citing this book

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Gauge Field Theories by Stefan Pokorski

Discusses:

• counterterm vertices
• vertex counterterm
• divergent amplitudes

QCD and Collider Physics by R. K. Ellis

Discusses:

• physical polarization states
• longitudinal fraction
• Particle Data Group

Quantum Field Theory for Mathematicians by Robin Ticciati

Discusses:

• vertex counterterm
• vertex delta functions
• regularization formulae

Elementary Particles and Their Interactions by Quang Ho-Kim

Discusses:

• ferinion fields
• vertex counterterm
• Feynman-'t Hooft

An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory by George Sterman

Discusses:

• axial isospin currents
• vertex counterterm
• Dirac Lagrangian

Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies by Harry W. K. Cheung

Discusses:

• longitudinal fraction
• transverse polarization states
• Particle Data Group

Gauge Field Theories by Stefan Pokorski Discusses: counterterm vertices vertex counterterm divergent amplitudes QCD and Collider Physics by R. K. Ellis Discusses: physical polarization states longitudinal fraction Particle Data Group Quantum Field Theory for Mathematicians by Robin Ticciati Discusses: vertex counterterm vertex delta functions regularization formulae Elementary Particles and Their Interactions by Quang Ho-Kim Discusses: ferinion fields vertex counterterm Feynman-'t Hooft Loading...

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33 Reviews 5 star:  (16) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (8)           Average Customer Review 3.5 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 34 of 34 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Feynman diagrams, March 25, 1998 By  Paul Shocklee (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews 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: 5.0 out of 5 stars A great book; better when supplemented, December 15, 2001 By  "jackaroe" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews 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. 44 of 47 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Promotes physical insight and understanding...not formalism, July 28, 2001 By  Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       The authors give an excellent overview of the physical concepts and computational aspects of quantum field theory. They stress the situation behind the subject, and endeavor to remain as concrete as possible. Abstract mathematical constructions are left to more advanced texts in quantum field theory. The authors characterize their book as an updating of the two volume set of Bjorken and Drell. The main emphasis of the book is on quantum electrodynamics (QED), the most successful of quantum field theories. The representation and analysis of the physical processes of QED is done via Feynman diagrams, with electron-positron annihilation leading off the discussion. Recognizing that the exact expression for the amplitude of this process is not known, perturbation theory is used to give an approximate representation for it via an infinite series with each term involving successively higher powers of the strength of the coupling between the electrons and photons (i.e. the charge). Each term is represented as a Feynman diagram. This is followed by a discussion of the quantum field theory of the Klein-Gordon field. The authors give one of the best explanations in the literature of why one must deal with the quantization of fields and not particles, the most important one being causality. Canoncial quantization is employed and the Feynman propagator for the Klein-Gordon field is derived. The Dirac field is also quantized using the canonical formalism. The authors show that Klein-Gordon fields obey Bose-Einstein statistics and Dirac fields obey Fermi-Dirac statistics. The all-important Wick's theorem is proven and higher-order Feynman diagrams are discussed. Most importantly, the authors show how to connect these results to experiment via the calculation of cross sections and decay rates. This entails the computation of the S-matrix elements from Feynman diagrams. The authors are very detailed in their elucication of the discussion, and those who have done these calculations know that it is great fun to do so. In addition, these "bread-and-butter" calculations give quantum field theory its ultimate justification in the modern particle accelerator. The discussion on radiative corrections is especially well-written, particularly the section on infrared divergences. The authors do not entirely neglect the more formal aspects behind quantum field theory, and spend some time discussion renormalization and the amazing Ward-Takahashi identity. This important identity gives one further confidence in the consistency of QED in that is shows that timelike and longitudinal photons can be neglected in the actual calculations. The process of renormalization has been viewed with suspicion by mathematicians, but it has been given a firmer foundation recently using, interestingly, mostly 19th century mathematics. The authors discuss functional methods, and give an example of its use by calculating the photon propagotor. Viewing this as a constrained problem because of gauge invariance they use the Faddeev-Popov gauge fixing condition to obtain the correct results. In addition, they derive the important Schwinger-Dyson equations for QED using functional methods. Effective field theories are also introduced in the book, with an explicit calculation of the effective action. The authors show the important connection between continuous symmetries and the existence of massless particles (Goldstone's theorem). Their discussion of the renormalization group is very understandable, and they motivate the subject well, by asking why the loop integrals over virtual-particle momenta are always dominated by values on the order of the finite external momenta. Non-Abelian gauge theories are given a thorough treatment and Wilson loops are introduced as a comparator between gauge transformations at different spacetime points. The quantization of these theories is again done by viewing the quantization problem as a constrained problem, and the famous "Lagrange multlipiers", the Faddeev-Popov ghosts, are introduced. The authors show in detail how their introduction allows the correct Feynman rules to be produced, by showing that the unphysical timelike and longitudinal polarization states of the gauge bosons are cancelled by these fields. The BRST symmetry is discussed as a formal device to to this cancellation. The omit though how the Ward identities are derived from BRST symmetry. The authors give the best explanation in the literature of asymptotic freedom by showing the effect of vacuum fluctuations on the Coulomb field of a SU(2) gauge theory. The important operator product expansion is treated in the context of the Callan-Symanzik equation in quantum chromodynamics. It is applied to the deep inelastic scattering and electron-positron annihilation. Dispersion relations make their appearance here. The authors also discuss anomalies and motivate the subject by analyzing the axial current in two-dimensional massless QED. The axial current is shown not to be conserved in the presence of an electromagnetic field, and they conclude that gauge invariance and conservation of axial currents in this theory cannot both be simultaneously satisfied. This is generalized to axial currents in four dimensions and the authors derive the famous Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomalies. The implications of anomalies for gauge theories are discussed along with observable consequencies. The (mysterious) Higgs mechanism is also discussed and compared to the situation in superconductivity. To view it in terms of superconductivity I think gives it the most plausible and intuitive justification. Understanding the Higgs mechanism is a usual stumbling-block for newcomers to gauge theories, and the authors do a fair job here. The quantization of spontaneously broken gauge theories is then carried out, with emphasis on the Goldstone boson equivalence theorem. A brief discussion of the future of quantum field theory ends the book. When reading this book, and others on quantum field theory, I am always amazed at the degree to which it works, and its elegance, despite the fact that it really is a collection of ad hoc strategies and sophisticated guesswork. One gets the impression that there is something profound behind the scenes, still waiting to be discovered, and which will be able to shed light on the major unsolved problem of quantum field theory: the existence of a bound state.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 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 11 months ago 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 Published 15 months ago 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 23 months ago 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 1.0 out of 5 stars Don't make the same fault I did! Hi there! The important information first: I'm a graduate student, mainly interested in theoretical physics. Read more Published on December 15, 2006 by akrech 3.0 out of 5 stars It is sad that we don't have a better book out there... 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... Read more Published on May 27, 2006 by PT 5.0 out of 5 stars Written for the phenomenologists! Quantum Field Theory combines together quantum mechanics and special relativity and thus can be thought of as quantum mechanics in four space-time dimensions. Read more Published on March 18, 2006 by Farshid Arjomandi 4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Text This is a well written book that I thoroughly recommend. The chapters are clear and offer good physical insight into the theory, and the end of chapter exercises are not overly... Read more Published on January 9, 2006 by Chris West 2.0 out of 5 stars sketchy and waste of time for beginners If you are a thinker and want to deeply understand QFT, this book won't take you there. It provides nothing more than a sketchy summary of QFT which you might find helpfull... Read more Published on December 7, 2005 by smallphi 5.0 out of 5 stars This is not the best book for a first time introduction to quantum field theory But none the less it is the best book for learning quantum field theory if you plan to make a career out of it. The best book for a newcomer to qft is either "A. Read more Published on September 15, 2005 by Justin Moorhead Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 864 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201503972
• ISBN-13: 978-0201503975
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,574 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Waves & Wave Mechanics
  #12 in	Books > Science > Physics > Waves & Wave Mechanics
  #76 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Quantum Theory

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Feynman diagrams, March 25, 1998

By	Paul Shocklee (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

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:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book; better when supplemented, December 15, 2001

By	"jackaroe" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

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.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Promotes physical insight and understanding...not formalism, July 28, 2001

By	Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The authors give an excellent overview of the physical concepts and computational aspects of quantum field theory. They stress the situation behind the subject, and endeavor to remain as concrete as possible. Abstract mathematical constructions are left to more advanced texts in quantum field theory. The authors characterize their book as an updating of the two volume set of Bjorken and Drell.

The main emphasis of the book is on quantum electrodynamics (QED), the most successful of quantum field theories. The representation and analysis of the physical processes of QED is done via Feynman diagrams, with electron-positron annihilation leading off the discussion. Recognizing that the exact expression for the amplitude of this process is not known, perturbation theory is used to give an approximate representation for it via an infinite series with each term involving successively higher powers of the strength of the coupling between the electrons and photons (i.e. the charge). Each term is represented as a Feynman diagram. This is followed by a discussion of the quantum field theory of the Klein-Gordon field. The authors give one of the best explanations in the literature of why one must deal with the quantization of fields and not particles, the most important one being causality. Canoncial quantization is employed and the Feynman propagator for the Klein-Gordon field is derived. The Dirac field is also quantized using the canonical formalism. The authors show that Klein-Gordon fields obey Bose-Einstein statistics and Dirac fields obey Fermi-Dirac statistics. The all-important Wick's theorem is proven and higher-order Feynman diagrams are discussed. Most importantly, the authors show how to connect these results to experiment via the calculation of cross sections and decay rates. This entails the computation of the S-matrix elements from Feynman diagrams. The authors are very detailed in their elucication of the discussion, and those who have done these calculations know that it is great fun to do so. In addition, these "bread-and-butter" calculations give quantum field theory its ultimate justification in the modern particle accelerator. The discussion on radiative corrections is especially well-written, particularly the section on infrared divergences.

The authors do not entirely neglect the more formal aspects behind quantum field theory, and spend some time discussion renormalization and the amazing Ward-Takahashi identity. This important identity gives one further confidence in the consistency of QED in that is shows that timelike and longitudinal photons can be neglected in the actual calculations. The process of renormalization has been viewed with suspicion by mathematicians, but it has been given a firmer foundation recently using, interestingly, mostly 19th century mathematics. The authors discuss functional methods, and give an example of its use by calculating the photon propagotor. Viewing this as a constrained problem because of gauge invariance they use the Faddeev-Popov gauge fixing condition to obtain the correct results. In addition, they derive the important Schwinger-Dyson equations for QED using functional methods.

Effective field theories are also introduced in the book, with an explicit calculation of the effective action. The authors show the important connection between continuous symmetries and the existence of massless particles (Goldstone's theorem). Their discussion of the renormalization group is very understandable, and they motivate the subject well, by asking why the loop integrals over virtual-particle momenta are always dominated by values on the order of the finite external momenta.

Non-Abelian gauge theories are given a thorough treatment and Wilson loops are introduced as a comparator between gauge transformations at different spacetime points. The quantization of these theories is again done by viewing the quantization problem as a constrained problem, and the famous "Lagrange multlipiers", the Faddeev-Popov ghosts, are introduced. The authors show in detail how their introduction allows the correct Feynman rules to be produced, by showing that the unphysical timelike and longitudinal polarization states of the gauge bosons are cancelled by these fields. The BRST symmetry is discussed as a formal device to to this cancellation. The omit though how the Ward identities are derived from BRST symmetry.

The authors give the best explanation in the literature of asymptotic freedom by showing the effect of vacuum fluctuations on the Coulomb field of a SU(2) gauge theory.

The important operator product expansion is treated in the context of the Callan-Symanzik equation in quantum chromodynamics. It is applied to the deep inelastic scattering and electron-positron annihilation. Dispersion relations make their appearance here.

The authors also discuss anomalies and motivate the subject by analyzing the axial current in two-dimensional massless QED. The axial current is shown not to be conserved in the presence of an electromagnetic field, and they conclude that gauge invariance and conservation of axial currents in this theory cannot both be simultaneously satisfied. This is generalized to axial currents in four dimensions and the authors derive the famous Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomalies. The implications of anomalies for gauge theories are discussed along with observable consequencies.

The (mysterious) Higgs mechanism is also discussed and compared to the situation in superconductivity. To view it in terms of superconductivity I think gives it the most plausible and intuitive justification. Understanding the Higgs mechanism is a usual stumbling-block for newcomers to gauge theories, and the authors do a fair job here. The quantization of spontaneously broken gauge theories is then carried out, with emphasis on the Goldstone boson equivalence theorem. A brief discussion of the future of quantum field theory ends the book.

When reading this book, and others on quantum field theory, I am always amazed at the degree to which it works, and its elegance, despite the fact that it really is a collection of ad hoc strategies and sophisticated guesswork. One gets the impression that there is something profound behind the scenes, still waiting to be discovered, and which will be able to shed light on the major unsolved problem of quantum field theory: the existence of a bound state.