Quantum Electrodynamics [Paperback]

Walter Greiner (Author), Joachim Reinhardt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3540440291 | ISBN-13: 978-3540440291 | Publication Date: December 16, 2002 | Edition: 3rd

This completely revised and corrected new edition provides several new examples and exercises to enable deeper insight in formalism and application of Quantum electrodynamics.
It is a thorough introductory text providing all necessary mathematical tools together with many examples and worked problems. In their presentation of the subject the authors adopt a heuristic approach based on the propagator formalism. The latter is introduced in the first two chapters in both its nonrelativistic and relativistic versions. Subsequently, a large number of scattering and radiation processes involving electrons, positrons, and photons are introduced and their theoretical treatment is presented in great detail. Higher order processes and renormalization are also included. The book concludes with a discussion of two-particle states and the interaction of spinless bosons.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the third edition:

"Quantum electrodynamics (QED) nowadays is considered to be physics’ most precise theory beneath the theory of general relativity. … Greiner’s and Reinhardt’s book provides both teachers and students with all that is necessary to understand QED from its origin. And to the best of my knowledge, it is one of the few books that really do so. … as a reference book, it forms a good companion to any other book on the shelf to show exactly how things are done." (T. Beier, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 45 (3), 2004)

"This completely revised and corrected new edition provides several new examples and exercises to enable deeper insight to formalism and application of Quantum electrodynamics. It is a thorough introductory text providing all necessary mathematical tools together with many examples and worked problems." (Revista Espanola de Fisica, Vol. 17 (6), 2003)

"The particular volume on quantum electrodynamics was first published in 1992, with a second edition in 1994 and now a third one at the end of 2002. … I have used the former edition(s) of this particular volume in a course on QED and it is a very good source to find all the details. … The books of Greiner … have owned their specific place in the literature on theoretical physics and this volume fits fully in that scheme." (Kris Heyde, Physicalia, Vol. 25 (4), 2003)

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 3rd edition (December 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540440291
• ISBN-13: 978-3540440291
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,571,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for self-study - My highest recommendations, January 28, 2004

By 

Alberto Dominguez - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum Electrodynamics (Greiner, Walter//Theoretical Physics) (Hardcover)

This book basically covers the same material as chapters 6-9 of the classic "Relativistic Quantum Mechanics" by Bjorken & Drell.
- Propagator
- Basic Quantum Electrodynamical Processes
- The Scattering Matrix in Higher Order (including good discussions of vacuum polarization, electron self-energy and the vertex correction)
- QED of spinless bosons

In addition to this it covers bound systems and strong fields, which are not discussed in B&D. The book also does a good job of working out a lot of the details missing from B&D.

The only minuses are:
-- some of the more advanced topics in B&D are dropped.
-- there are a lot of typos (but the alert reader should spot them easily)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for newcomers, January 17, 2010

By 

Luiz Victor Seize "LVSeize" (Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quantum Electrodynamics (Paperback)

Dr Greiner and his coauthor are not ashamed of treating a hard subject (Quantum Electrodynamics) the easiest way.
They use the Feynman propagator technique instead of the Quantum Field Theory methods, rendering the book accessible to a greater audience.
The chapter about bound-states is a plus not easily found in QE books. They push the theory till the applications ( positronium levels of energy ).
Before you start reading this book, read ( at least some parts of ) the Relativistic Quantum Mechanics book in the same series.

8 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most accurate theory in physics., February 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Quantum Electrodynamics (Corr Corr Print) (Theoretical Physics, V. 4) (Paperback)

QED is known as the most accurate theory in physics. This text nicely explains the major achievements in QED by Feynmann, Schwniger, and Tomonaga. Important connection among relativities, quantum mechanics, and classical electrodynamics.