Advanced Quantum Field Theory (AQFT | SPA7001U)

Year: 4 | Semester: B | Level: 7 | Credits: 15

Course organiser: Dr Sanjaye Ramgoolam | Course deputy: Prof Andreas Brandhuber

Aims:

This course will introduce the student to the most important concepts, ideas and tools of quantum field theory which has become the universal framework to describe all fundamental forces in nature. The student will understand how to construct theories, quantise them in the presence of interactions, develop the corresponding perturbation theory (Feynman rules) and be able to apply them to calculate scattering processes at tree- and one-loop level (S-matrix elements and cross-sections). Furthermore, the student will have gained a general working knowledge of the principles of regularisation and renormalisation. If time permits this will include the mathematical structure of non-Abelian gauge theories and their applications in the standard model of fundamental forces. The student will also understand the meaning of and be able to calculate the running coupling in various theories, and will have an elementary understanding of anomalies and their physical consequences in nature.

Recommended books:

To some extent the course follows the text book by Mandl and Shaw, "Quantum Field Theory" 2nd edition by Wiley, but I have taken inspiration from many other sources.

Other good books are "An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory" by Peskin and Schroeder and "Quantum Field Theory" by Mark Srednicki. The latter is also available as pdf on this webpage. Both are very thorough, use modern approaches (and cover much more than you will see in my course) and are more advanced than Mandl and Shaw.

There are also the classic but somewhat dated books by Bjorken and Drell. And finally there is the conceptually very deep series of books "The Quantum Theory of Fields" by Stephen Weinberg.