Customer Reviews

Gauge Theories Of Strong, Weak, And Electromagnetic Interactions (Advanced Book Classics)

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I left the field of physics twenty years ago, and as a graduate physicist I am now doing social science research into information systems. But I like to stay informed about current developments in physics. And certainly a unified theory of the fundamental forces of nature is attracting a lot of attention from both specialists and laymen alike. I knew that gauge theories are important for a unified theory, and nobody interested in physics could escape the renewed interest through the awarding of the 1999 Nobel Prize in physics to Veltman and 't Hooft. So I bought this classic text of Chris Quigg. Many popular books on modern physics (e.g. Bedersen, 1999) quote this text. By no means I was disappointed. Of course the mathematics is often difficult, but the author is starting each chapter outlining what the fundamental ideas are. And that alone makes the book a good read. The book has nine chapters, and each chapter is concluded with an assessment or a reflection on the contents, which are highly understandable. Many of the problems of 1983, when the book was published, are still open today. It is didactically very suited as textbook or reference book for those physicists wishing to specialize in high energy physics.