Quantum Many-Particle Systems (Frontiers in Physics) [Hardcover]

J. W. Negele (Author), Henri Orland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1988 | Series: Frontiers in Physics (Book 68)

This volume explains the fundamental concepts and theoretical techniques used to understand the properties of quantum systems having large numbers of degrees of freedom. A number of complementary approaches are developed, including perturbation theory; nonperturbative approximations based on functional integrals; general arguments based on order parameters, symmetry, and Fermi liquid theory; and stochastic methods. Each approach provides its own insights and quantitative capabilities, and in conjunction provide a powerful framework for understanding a wide variety of physical systems. Written at a level for graduate students with no prior background in many-body theory, this classic text is intended for physicists in solid state physics, field theory, atomic physics, condensed matter physics, quantum chemistry, and nuclear physics.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Negele is Professor of Physics at M.I.T., where he has been a faculty member since 1970. He has been a recipient of numerous fellowships, including Guggenheim, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Alfred P. Sloan, NATO, National Science Foundation, Danforth, and Woodrow Wilson. His research interests range from the structure and dynamics of nuclei and the properties of dense matter to spin systems and quantum chromodynamics.Henri Orland, a Physicist at the Service de Physique Théoretique, CEA Saclay, has worked extensively in nuclear physics and statistical physics and is currently focusing his research in statistical physics on disordered media: spinglasses, optimization problems, neural networks, wetting phenomena, two-dimensional systems, interfaces in random systems, quasi-periodic systems, and related topics.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 486 pages
• Publisher: Perseus Books (Sd) (January 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201125935
• ISBN-13: 978-0201125931
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, precise, and modern, September 10, 2002

By 

Sohrab Ismail-Beigi (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quantum Many-particle Systems (Advanced Books Classics) (Paperback)

A great physics book for field theory applied to condensed
matter and sometimes nuclear physics problems. The authors
are EXTREMELY careful mathematically and really don't skip
any steps or shove stuff under the rug; in fact, the first
chapter is just all math about how to do integrals and path
integrals and field integrals and deal with Grassman numbers.
A bit unusual for a physics book, but that's their style.

The rest of the book deals with the usual and other material:

zero-temperature Green's functions and perturbation theory
(for energy, Green's function, etc.) The treatment is detailed
and relatively exhaustive. Then there is the same for finite-
temperature. The earlier sections on linear response are
concise and one of the best treatments of the subject I have
seen leading directly to the fluctuation dissipation expression
(after this book I realized this vaunted "fluctuation-dissipation" that no one can explain is just
a straightforward thing about commutators and pert. theory).

The book also has other good stuff: a chapter on mean field theory, Landau-Ginzburg theory, order parameters, and a nice
discussion about spontaneous symmetry breaking that helps
clarify a bunch of stuff. Then there is a whole chapter on
further aspects of one-particle Green's functions (Dyson
equation, solving for poles, quasiparticles, satellites, etc.)
that is pretty good and gets the physical point across. There
is also a chapter on statistical (monte carlo, numerical, etc.)
methods for doing quantum many body problems. While some of
the methods are not the most up to date or modern, the basics
are all there (Monte Carlo, Hubbard-Strataonvich (spelling?),
inverting matrices via Monte Carlo, some stuff about lattice
systems, Langevin equation simulation for Monte Carlo, updating
problems, etc.) There is also a chapter on more advanced
functional integration stuff. Also there is a nice description
of the loop expansion and whatnot.

The book is very well written, has no errors as far as I can
tell, and is exhaustive on what it treats. The problems at
the end of the first few chapters deal with physics problems
and help build intuition whereas the texts in these chapters
are more formal. The book could use some more physical insights
sprinkled throughout, but that is not too much of a drawback.

The book is based on functional integration (Feynman integral)
methods for field theory: this is the modern way folks do it
and it is a powerful way of doing field theory both to
derive results, connect results, do expansions and what not,
and also for certain kinds of monte carl computations. So
having read this, the reader is up to date on a pretty modern
view of field theory in condensed matter (and somewhat on
nuclear physics).

Highly recommended unless you can't stand precise and long
mathematical treatments. My only misgiving is that sometimes
I wish the authors provided more physical insights for certain
concepts and gave some examples rather than "just the math";
but they do this in other parts of the book, so perhaps
my complaint, which is not that serious, is more about the
uneven way this is done. Nevertheless, this is 5/5 and a book
you will read many times and learn from many times.

1 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book for beginner cond-mat physicists and more., April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Quantum Many-particle Systems (Advanced Books Classics) (Paperback)

A very good introduction to the many particle systems, includes all from the basics of coherent states to very complex parts of theory.