Introduction to Quantum Field Theory

This textbook offers a detailed and uniquely self-contained presentation of quantum and gauge field theories. Writing from a modern perspective, the author begins with a discussion of advanced dynamics and special relativity before guiding students steadily through the fundamental principles of relativistic quantum mechanics and classical field theory. This foundation is then used to develop the full theoretical framework of quantum and gauge field theories. The introductory, opening half of the book allows it to be used for a variety of courses, from advanced undergraduate to graduate level, and students lacking a formal background in more elementary topics will benefit greatly from this approach. Williams provides full derivations wherever possible and adopts a pedagogical tone without sacrificing rigour. Worked examples are included throughout the text and end-of-chapter problems help students to reinforce key concepts. A fully worked solutions manual is available online for instructors.

Table of Contents

1 Lorentz and Poincare Invariance

2 Classical Mechanics

3 Relativistic Classical Fields

4 Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

5 Introduction to Particle Physics

6 Formulation of Quantum Field Theory

7 Interacting Quantum Field Theories

8 Symmetries and Renormalization

9 Nonabelian Gauge Theories

About the Author

Anthony G. Williams is Professor in Physics at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has worked extensively in the areas of hadronic physics and computational physics, studying quark and gluon substructure. For this work, he was awarded the Walter Boas Medal by the Australian Institute of Physics in 2001 and elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2002. In 2020, he became the Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, where he studies the direct detection of dark matter and extensions of the Standard Model.