Customer Reviews

Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics (Dover Books on Physics)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
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This is a serious book with a seriously long title and three seriously hard-to-pronounce author-names.

Of course, as the other reviewers have already stated, this book is a Classic. It is also, as one other reviewer has proclaimed, not a book from which I would like to learn quantum field theory.

"Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics" by A.A. Abrikosov, L. P. gorkox, and I.E. Dzyaloshinski (or "AGD" as it is known) is thought of by many as the be all and end all of field theory texts in the condensed matter physics world.

But, AGD should not be thought of as a book that introduces the reader to field theory. You definitely must have studied field theory (either relativistic or non-relativistic) from an introductory book that uses the canonical formalism before attempting to get anything out of AGD.


For example, if you are not already familiar with Wick's Theorem and how to prove it, then you will get very little out of AGD's single paragraph of text which "proves" the thoerem. On the other hand, if you already know of Wick's theorem you may find the proof in AGD rather cute. As for me, when I read the one paragraph of text that AGD put forward as a "proof" of Wick's Theorem, I immediately puked in my own mouth.

Yummy.

Another downside to AGD is the fact that they do not even mention the path integral formalism. Everything is done in the canonical formalism, as you might expect from a bunch of old school Russians.

Finally, I will repeat that this book IS a Classic, and there is a ton of great stuff in this book. If you are a serious student of condensed matter physics then you must have this book. If, on the other hand, you are trying to learn field theory for the first time, then go buy "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell" by Zee.

This book is little or no use unless you have a very strong background in
field theoretical methods. If you are a seasoned pro. you might find it
useful but if you want to teach yourself.... you will soon get frustrated.
Still my hat's off to the authors who pioneered the area.
Conclusion: if you are a PhD student, get Fetter & Walecka instead.

This book is one of the most known treating about QFT in non-zero temperatures and it doesn't need an advertisement. One think that redactors should think about is size of the fonts. Letters are really to small...

This is a classic, and quite possibly it doesn't get any better than this to teach you the technique. For those used to a textbook style, this will be a bit of an unpleasant surprise, because writing is somewhat condensed, but that's quite typical for the old Russian school of theoretical physics. However, all the important issues are properly stressed, all derivations are rigorous, and what is most important, the physical reasoning is clear an to the point.

This book is a classic in the subject of quantum many-body theory.Written in the sixties by the Russuian school,it gives extremely succinct but potent account of the the subject.The whole book is guided with the spirit of Landau's Fermi liquid theory.

This book is a classic in the subject of quantum many-body theory.Written in the sixties by the Russuian school,it gives extremely succinct but potent account of the the subject.The whole book is guided with the spirit of Landau's Fermi liquid theory.

It is exactly what I was looking for. It is a great book in QFT. I am satisfied with the Amazon's service too.

This book is a must have if you're interested with applications of QFT in condensed matter physics. It's well organized.


Other useful books you may consider:
"Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics" by A.A. Abrikosov, L. P. gorkox, and I.E. Dzyaloshinski (or "AGD" as it is known) is thought of by many as the be all and end all of field theory texts in the condensed matter physics world.
Alexander L. Fetter, John Dirk Walecka, Quantum theory of many-particle systems
Negele and Orland, Quantum Many-particle Systems
Alexander Altland, Ben D. Simons, Condensed Matter Field Theory
Jauho and Haug, Quantum Kinetics in Transport and Optics of Semiconductors

enjoy!

AGD, as it were, is an essential text for those studying or practicing "methods of QFT in statistical physics". this landmark publication has educated generations of physicists, and can continue to do so due to it's bargain price.
The book does suffer from "Russian style". It is terse. Read slowly and often.
If you're considering buying the book, either do so, or change fields. If you can not or will not invest ten dollars in this book then you are wasting your time anyhow.