Product Description

Learn quantum field theory relatively easily

Trying to comprehend quantum field theory but don't have infinite time or the IQ of Einstein? No problem! This easy-to-follow guide helps you understand this complex subject matter without spending a lot of energy.

Quantum Field Theory Demystified covers essential principles such as particle physics and special relativity. You'll learn about Lagrangian field theory, group theory, and electroweak theory. The book also explains continuous and discrete symmetries, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and supersymmetry. With thorough coverage of the mathematics of quantum field theory and featuring end-of-chapter quizzes and a final exam to test your knowledge, this book will teach you the fundamentals of this theoretical framework in no time at all.

This fast and easy guide offers:

• Numerous figures to illustrate key concepts
• Sample equations with worked solutions
• Coverage of quantum numbers
• Details on the Dirac equation, the Feynman rules, and the Higgs mechanism
• A time-saving approach to performing better on an exam or at work

Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced student, Quantum Field Theory Demystified is your shortcut to understanding this fascinating area of physics.

Customer Reviews (15)

This does what it says!
Quantum field theory is daunting for anyone working in the field and even more so for others who want to learn what it is all about. "Quantum Field Theory Demystified" is an excellent primer and will be useful to anyone who has taken a previous elementary class in quantum physics. There are a few math typos and I would have loved to see more about the Higgs field explained.I recommend it.

Fred Alan Wolf aka Dr. Quantum

Taking the Quantum Leap: The New Physics for Nonscientists

Not useful to learn quantum field theory



Sadly, this book is almost completely useless to learn quantum field theory.
There is actually very little quantum field theory discussed at all!

For example,

- Wick's theorem is not even mentioned!

- There is no mention of the LSZ reduction formula!



At this point, you might wonder how can the author derive the Feynman rules at all.
Good question. After writing the time evolution as a Dyson series, the author writes, I quote:

"Confused? Who wouldn't be. Luckily Feynman understood well enough this stuff to distill
it down to a simple recipe. We will forget everything we've done so far and use the Feynman rules
to calculate amplitudes"

He then just throws in the Feynman rules.
This is unacceptable given that the purpose of the book is supposedly to demystify
quantum field theory!

But it does not stop there. Feynman rules are only given for tree level processes.
There is no discussion of loop diagrams anywhere in the book! And therefore, no
discussion of regularization, renormalization, the renormalization group, Fadeev-Popov ghosts
and all the subtleties associated to loop dagrams.

Even worse, there areno explanations of how to calculate decay rates and cross sections!!
So there is not a singleexample of cross section or decay rate calculations in the book, not even
for tree level processes!

There are about 10 pages on path integrals and it is only in the context of quantum mechanics.
(And 3 of these pages are devoted to showing how to integrate x^n e^(-a x^2)!)

Some space is devoted to the electroweak theory and the Higgs mechanism, as well as a short chapter on
SUSY, but this is a strange choice of topics when there are such huge gaps in the sections on
quantum field theory, supposedly the main topic of the book. To learn quantum field theory, QFT Demystified
is useless, I am sorry to say.

Even the little material that is covered contains mistakes, and not just typos.
For example, he defines a group G as something obeying four axioms, one of which is

"Axiom 4.Order: The order of the group is the number of elements that belongs to G."

Obviously, this does not make sense as an axiom!


If you want a nice and pedagogical introduction to both quantum field theory and to
particle physics, save your money and getGriffiths'book (An Introduction to ElementaryParticles) is infinitelybetter.
After GriffithsI woudl suggest any of the following books: Srednicki, Maggiore,Mandl and Shaw,
Aithchison and Hey, Halzen and Martin, Ryder, Peskin and Schroeder, Hatfield or Greiner, etc.

To conclude, if you know even a tiny bit about QFT, you won't learn anything new. If you have no background in QFT, you might feel that you have learned a little, but as soon as you look at other books or try to do a calculation, you will realize that the book did not teach you much.

Does what it says on the cover
I thought this book was excellent because it does exactly what it said it would... it demystifies quantum field theory. What this means is that, if like me you have a good non-mathematical understanding of particle physics and want to take the next step from quantum mechanics to quantum field theory ths book enables you to do that. It has loads of examples which clearly demystify the maths. It's not the final book you will use, its the middle one. The one that allows you to go from quantum mechnics to field theory. Enjoy
ps Beware, lots of typos

Intro to QFT
This book seemed like an entry into this study of QFT (at home in spare time).I was looking for a book with formulas rather than one of the many books that avoid them.

My physics training is 3 decades old now and very rusty.I quickly got confused and it turns out because of errors in the text rather than the material.Good to know I remember enough physics to pick up errors but frustrating to be slowed down so quickly by them.

I've put the book aside after less than 2 chapters.The good news this book inspired me to turn to "QFT in a nutshell" that I've had for a few months.

Three stars because it might be a good casual read but I don't intend to pay too much attention to the formulas except at a very high level.I might take it on trips and read on the plane.

Great supplement
By reading this book alone, you will not master quantum field theory.You probably won't learn much except for some lingo and a few equations.However, if you pair this book with Griffiths Intro to Elementary Particles, or Zee's Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, then you will get great results!This helpful little book cuts straight to the important material.It is very much like an outline of basic quantum field theory, so the more you know all around (i.e. from lectures, other books, etc) the more use you will get from this book.I would especially recommend this book to anyone trying to self-study quantum field theory. ... Read more

Product Description
"A classic text on field theoretic methods in statistical physics"—American Scientist. A comprehensive introduction to the many-body theory and its ramifications by three internationally known Russian physicists, directed to physicists, mathematicians, and others involved in statistical and solid state physics.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Seminal, essential,
AGD, as it were, is an essential text for those studying or practicing "methods of QFT in statistical physics". this landmark publication has educated generations of physicists, and can continue to do so due to it's bargain price.
The book does suffer from "Russian style". It is terse. Read slowly and often.
If you're considering buying the book, either do so, or change fields. If you can not or will not invest ten dollars in this book then you are wasting your time anyhow.

Very good book
This book is one of the most known treating about QFT in non-zero temperatures and it doesn't need an advertisement. One think that redactors should think about is size of the fonts. Letters are really to small...

I Believe It's Pronounced: "Ah-brick-oh-sov, Gore-cawV, and Dee-ah-low-shin-ski"
This is a serious book with a seriously long title and three seriously hard-to-pronounce author-names.

Of course, as the other reviewers have already stated, this book is a Classic. It is also, as one other reviewer has proclaimed, not a book from which I would like to learn quantum field theory.

"Methods of Quantum Field Theory in Statistical Physics" by A.A. Abrikosov, L. P. gorkox, and I.E. Dzyaloshinski (or "AGD" as it is known) is thought of by many as the be all and end all of field theory texts in the condensed matter physics world.

But, AGD should not be thought of as a book that introduces the reader to field theory. You definitely must have studied field theory (either relativistic or non-relativistic) from an introductory book that uses the canonical formalism before attempting to get anything out of AGD.


For example, if you are not already familiar with Wick's Theorem and how to prove it, then you will get very little out of AGD's single paragraph of text which "proves" the thoerem. On the other hand, if you already know of Wick's theorem you may find the proof in AGD rather cute. As for me, when I read the one paragraph of text that AGD put forward as a "proof" of Wick's Theorem, I immediately puked in my own mouth.

Yummy.

Another downside to AGD is the fact that they do not even mention the path integral formalism. Everything is done in the canonical formalism, as you might expect from a bunch of old school Russians.

Finally, I will repeat that this book IS a Classic, and there is a ton of great stuff in this book. If you are a serious student of condensed matter physics then you must have this book. If, on the other hand, you are trying to learn field theory for the first time, then go buy "Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell" by Zee.

Sorry to differ from the reader below.
This book is little or no use unless you have a very strong background in
field theoretical methods. If you are a seasoned pro.you might find it
useful but if you want to teach yourself.... youwill soon get frustrated.
Still my hat's off to the authors who pioneered the area.
Conclusion: if you are a PhD student, get Fetter & Walecka instead.

Possibly the best book on diagrams you can find
This is a classic, and quite possibly it doesn't get any better than this to teach you the technique. For those used to a textbook style, this will be a bit of an unpleasant surprise, because writing is somewhat condensed, but that's quite typical for the old Russian school of theoretical physics. However, all the important issues are properly stressed, all derivations are rigorous, and what is most important, the physical reasoning is clear an to the point. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a modern introduction to the ideas and techniques of quantum field theory.After a brief overview of particle physics and a survey of relativistic wave equations and Lagrangian methods, the author develops the quantum theory of scalar and spinor fields, and then of gauge fields. The emphasis throughout is on functional methods, which have played a large part in modern field theory. The book concludes with a brief survey of "topological" objects in field theory and, new to this edition,a chapter devoted to supersymmetry. Graduate students in particle physics and high energy physics will benefit from this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

A good first book on quantum field theory
As many reviewers correctly observe, quantum field theory can hardly be learned from one book.This is, of course, true of many topics in science and engineering!Nevertheless, Ryder's book had given me a satisfactory start in my quest to learn QTF.Ryder uses the Feynman path integral approach instead of Canonical quantization as the foundation for QTF.Ryder provides a good review of special relativity, four vectors, and covariance.His notation is easy to understand for those just beginning QFT--as he retains the presence of c and h bar in his equations.Equations and the steps in their derivation are also laid out in sufficient detail.Unfortunately, this particular variant of equation intensive exposition becomes quite overwhelming by the middle of the book.Even the QTF novice begins to tire of the proliferation of c's and h bars, and the constant press of equations seems to force out the narrative that might render these mathematical expressions meaningful to the reader.I found the Feynman integral approach easy to understand, but was confused by the author's attempt to use this approach to explain Feynman diagrams.As in many advanced treatments, there are moments where troubling errors in the editing of text particularly confuse and vex the reader.There are errors in the eigenvectors to the Dirac equation (i.e. the plane wave spinors, p.50 Eqs. 2.137 and 2.138) that can be remedied by looking to the analogous treatment by Schiff Quantum Mechanics (International Pure & Applied Physics Series) (p.476, Eq.52.16).Ryder's derivation of the Dirac equation, although fairly intuitive, lost me in his tracing of the relationship between 2D unitary transformations and 3D rotations (pp.33-34, Eqs.2.39-2.54).For me, this gap in this argument is remedied by reference to the discussion of this topic by Merzbacher Quantum Mechanics (pp.266-7, Eqs.12.35-12.41).The calculation of the free particle propagator (pp.161-162, 5.16-5.19;pp.180-180, 5A.3-5A.4) is more easily preformed and understood if Fourier transforms are used address the convolution operation, as may be gleaned from texts such as Bracewell The Fourier Transform & Its Applications.Overall, this book offers a good beginning, but after making my way halfway through the book, I found that Peskin and Shroeder's book An Introduction To Quantum Field Theory (Frontiers in Physics) offered me a better chance of making my way somewhat deeper into QTF.

A very readable introduction to Quantum Field Theory
This textbook is probably one of the most readable books on Quantum Field Theory. The level of formalism and mathematical complexity varies from chapter to chapter, which has its virtues and drawbacks. The chapters that are not too math-heavy are usually the more intelligible ones, and they present the otherwise fairly arcane material in a very accessible and physically-motivated fashion. On the other hand these chapters leave out a lot of calculation or just skim through those somewhat superficially. If you are trying to learn Quantum Field Theory so that you become proficient enough to pursue research in this field, then you may find this lack of detail frustrating.

One of the virtues of this book are the extended references that can be found at the ends of chapters. These refer both to the original research papers and other books that may cover the same material in more depth or with a different approach. These references are invaluable in their own right, and make this book a great resource to have.

The last chapter focuses on supersymmetry. This could be viewed as a somewhat controversial choice of topic to be included in a textbook that covers the fundamentals of quantum field theory. Supersymmetry, despite decades of theoretical investigation, so far has not yielded a single observable verification. There might be something in the claims of its proponents that it has a very appealing conceptual and mathematical structure, but even its simplest formulation that have any bearing on the real world are so complex that any traces of conceptual simplicity are irrevocably lost. However, whatever your feelings about supersymmetry might be, this chapter is valuable in its own right, since it gives a lot of interesting mathematics that are relevant to fermionic and bosonic fields in general.

One big problem that I have with this book as a textbook is a total lack of problems and exercises. As such is probably not well suited as a primary book for learning this material. Nonetheless, there are some detailed calculations of some important formal results, and these can be used in conjunction with other textbooks.

I would recommend this book to be used as a secondary study material for an introductory course on Quantum Field Theory. This way all of its strong points would be utilized, while its few weaknesses would not be an obstacle to fully absorbing otherwise very difficult material.

Good physical intuition into the topic
To understand quantum field theory it is necessary to read more than one author. Ryder's book should definitely be included in the list of titles.

Overview of QFT for those wanting a refreshing
This book should not be used for beginners by which I mean those individuals with a background in QM and SR but not QFT. It presumes, like any QFT text, a thorough understanding of QM and SR. A strong foundation in tensor analysis, group theory, differential geometry and lie groups is recommended.

It has some interesting ways of introducing topics in QFT for example the dirac equation:

The author begins by showing the defects in quantizing the energy mass relationship resulting in the Klein Gordon equation. The author digresses before introducing the dirac equation and goes on about the correspondence between SU(2) and O(3), rotation group in 3-D, and then introduces the correspondence between SL ( 2, C) and the Lorentz group. It is shown that the Lorentz group is essentially SU(2) x SU(2). Thus we can specify a state to be operated by a Lorentz transformation by two angular momenta. Special combinations of these give spinors which transform in specific ways under lorentz transforms. We see that the dirac equation is a relation between these spinors.

Symmetries of the Langrangian and the "appearance" of gauge fields in constraining the Langrangian to certain local symmetries from global ones is introduced almost immediately. We see how this necessitates the introduction of the electromagnetic field. Maxwell's and Proca's equations are put in tensorial form. There is a nice section here on the geometry of gauge fields. Differential geometry really helps here.

The canonical quantization of scalar, spinor and photon fields is undertaken.

Path Integral quantization of spinor scalar and gauge fields is undertaken. The usual topics of functional integration and wick's theorem are dealt with. With see how Zo(J) ..transition amplitude of particle creation and destruction with source..is the generating functional for free particle green functions and it's relation to n point functions and VEV is given.Interaction are introduced and their relation to Zo(J) is explained. The relation between greens functions and the S matrix are derived. It is shown how the usual approach for photons does not work requiring gauge fixing. Fenyman rules for all of these are derived.

Spontaneous Symmetry breaking and the standard model is briefly delved into. Renormalization is dealt with.

Overall, I found the presentation of the material disorganized with poor motivation for the topics. However, the derivations are detailed and a nice supplement to other QFT books.

One major drawback is the lack of problems.

ryder
its a good book for the beginners.The only drawback is it does not have exercise problems. ... Read more

Product Description
Providing a textbook introduction to the formalism, foundations and applications of quantum mechanics, Part I covers the basic material necessary to understand the transition from classical to wave mechanics. The Weyl quantization is presented in Part II, along with the postulates of quantum mechanics. Part III is devoted to advances in quantum physics. Intended for use in beginning graduate and advanced undergraduate courses, the volume is self-contained and includes problems to enhance reading comprehension. ... Read more

Product Description
Physics is a complex, even daunting topic, but it is also deeply satisfying even thrilling. And liberated from its mathematical underpinnings, physics suddenly becomes accessible to anyone with the curiosity and imagination to explore its beauty. Science without math? It's not that unusual. For example, we can understand the concept of gravity without solving a single equation. So for all those who may have pondered what makes blueberries blue and strawberries red; for those who have wondered if sound really travels in waves; and why light behaves so differently from any other phenomenon in the universe, it's all a matter of quantum physics. "Absolutely Small" presents (and demystifies) the world of quantum science like no book before. It explores scientific concepts from particles of light, to probability, to states of matter, to what makes greenhouse gases bad in considerable depth, but using examples from the everyday world. Challenging without being intimidating, accessible but not condescending, "Absolutely Small" develops the reader's intuition for the very nature of things at their most basic and intriguing levels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

I loved this book, but it's not for everyone
While I personally agree with the enthusiastic praise of most other reviewers, I think they oversell this book. It's not a Six Easy Pieces, ABC of Relativityor Thirty Years that Shook Physics. It has a narrower and deeper goal, and is likely to appeal to a smaller group. People with small aptitude for physics and mathematics, or little training and experience in them, will not find the explanations useful. People with extensive knowledge will find them too superficial. The ideal reader mastered Newtonian mechanics in high school, but didn't pursue physics in college.

The book is non-mathematical, but it uses rigorous and systematic reasoning that few math-phobes will tolerate. There is no physical intuition, in fact the author repeatedly warns against using it. That is a benefit to people who want to deepen their understanding, but it makes the argument abstract, requiring close attention. You need a pen and paper with you when you read this book, and you will be constantly turning back to refer to prior pages. It teaches you how to think about setting up quantum mechanical problems and then gives you the answer. That does save you a lot of detailed math (most of which has to be done on computer anyway) but it requires a significant fraction of the effort of learning the full subject.

Another difficulty of this approach is you have to accept a lot of principles that seem as arbitrary as epicycles. Why only two electrons per orbital? What is the nucleus?

This book delivers much of the insight from a college course in quantum mechanics with perhaps 10% of the work; but that's still a lot more work than most popular accounts demand. The book is written with clarity and style, but the density of the subject makes it a lot less fun that, say, In Search of Schrödinger's Cat or A Brief History of Time. And it does not deliver the kind of knowledge you can trot out at a cocktail party or use in a political essay. You won't impress anyone by reading this book, except maybe yourself.

So if you're serious about deepening your understanding of quantum physics, you can't do better than this book. But if you're not serious, there are lots of great alternatives that demand and deliver less.

Starts out good
I enjoyed the first 7 chapters or so and then it just got painfully boring.I skimmed through the rest. The last chapter was good. Absolutely not for the casual reader.I guess I hoped it was going to be more like Stephen Hawkings Universe In A Nutshell. Chapters 8 through 19 talk a lot about the rules of electron orbits in the different valence of atoms, ionic and covalent bonds and such.A little dry.Informative though.I had previously given it 2 stars but am now changing it to 3 because I did actually learn quite a bit I did not know before despite my average intelligence. I did not give it a 4 or better because I was looking for a light entertainment read, and it is anything but.A good book for the right reader.Maybe it deserves 4 stars because it does accomplish what I believe it sets out to do.

Quantum chemistry without math? Well, almost...
In the preface to this book the author begins: "If you are reading this book, you probably fall into one of two broad categories of people. You may be one of my colleagues who is steeped in the mysteries of quantum theory and wants to see how someone writes a serious book on quantum theory with no math. Or, you may be one of the vast majority of people who look at the world around them without a clear view of why many things in everyday life are the way they are." As the holder of a Ph. D. in theoretical chemistry, I definitely belong to the first group. (Aside: this is not really a book on "quantum theory" as the physicists might consider it, but strongly emphasizes the chemical applications of quantum theory, so "quantum chemistry" or "theoretical chemistry" would be more accurate than "quantum theory" in the second sentence of this quote. But this makes it even more clear that I belong to that first group.) "With no math" is not quite true; there is certainly a bit of mathematics in his treatment. But it is definitely a book intended for people with only a small mathematical background, and I think this book probably succeeds at its task. I have to put in a caveat in that the material he covers is _so_ familiar to me that it is hard to put myself in a layman's position to determine how clearly he explains things. I think he does a fairly good job, thus four stars. I'm not sure it is good enough to qualify for five, but I would not argue strongly that it does not deserve the fifth star.

The author clearly embraces the "Copenhagen interpretation" of quantum mechanics. I, myself, do not: for me quantum mechanics is a theory (the only theory we have at present that really works) that explains what we will observe, in an accurately quantitative manner. But I feel that people are wrong to attribute to it the status of an accurate theory of exactly what is going on. Quantum theory tells you, if you perform an experiment, what measurements you are likely to find: it succeeds in this, but it is unfair to ask more than this of it. I believe Planck, Einstein, Schrödinger, and others were right in that there is something real behind this, which we simply do not know how to find out, and quantum theory is the best theory we have at present to calculate the phenomena we will observe in the real world. But to his credit, the author does not let his adherence to the Copenhagen interpretation get in the way of his explanations, and most of what he says in this book is quite acceptable to me, despite my different philosophical orientation.

And the point he considers fundamental -- so fundamental that he bases his title on it -- is that there are such things as objects that are "absolutely small" as defined on p. 19 of the book: "An object is big in the absolute sense if the minimum disturbance that accompanies a measurement is negligible. An object is small in the absolute sense if the inherent minimum disturbance is not negligible." And expressed this way, I agree. So this philosophical difference does not prevent me from giving the book a high rating.

Absolutely Great!
Professor Michael Fayer holds a distinguished chair in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University, and has written a respected textbook, "Elements of Quantum Mechanics".His recent book, "Absolutely Small", shows he has an exceptional ability to dissect a deep scientific theory in non-mathematical terms, and illustrate it in way that is both interesting and informative for all levels of readers.As such, I rate Fayer as among the very best of scientific writers.In "Absolutely Small", Fayer first provides a non-mathematical introduction to the foundations of quantum physics.He then applies this knowledge to the Periodic Table, chemical bonding, and other topics of general interest.Finally, he illustrates the broad applicability of quantum physics and chemistry to a variety of interesting topics from everyday life.Although "Absolutely Small" will be readily accessible to any intellectually curious individual, it will also be fascinating to people (such as myself) who have studied quantum mechanics.I found "Absolutely Small" a delight to read, and it "bought to life" the quantum mechanics formalism that I have learned.I highly recommend this book!

Comes from an award-winning physics scholar and teacher
ABSOLUTELY SMALL: HOW QUANTUM THEORY EXPLAINS OUR EVERYDAY WORLD comes from an award-winning physics scholar and teacher who believes that quantum physics should be accessible to any person - and who uses ABSOLUTELY SMALL to explain its importance. From why everyday mysteries have quantum roots to how to understand quantum mechanics without math, this offers an invaluable guide for any general lending library.
... Read more

Product Description
Ticciati's approach to quantum field theory falls between building a mathematical model of the subject and presenting the mathematics that physicists actually use. It begins with the need to combine special relativity and quantum mechanics and culminates in a basic understanding of the standard model of electroweak and strong interactions. The book is divided into five parts: canonical quantization of scalar fields, Weyl, Dirac and vector fields, functional integral quantization, the standard model of the electroweak and strong interactions, renormalization. This should be a useful reference for those interested in quantum theory and related areas of function theory, functional analysis, differential geometry or topological invariant theory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Filled with pearls for the experienced "diver"
I preface my comments by stating that this book is not intended as an introduction to QFT.

The student should have a solid understanding of SR, QM, tensor analysis, group theory including Lie Groups, and Hilbert spaces.

I will not regurgitate what the book covers, one need only use the "search inside" tab to look at the contents.

Having said this, this book is an excellent and indispensible to tool to BROADEN and DEEPEN your understanding of QFT. If all you want to do is calculate scattering amplitudes and decay rates I would not recommend this book, there are plenty of better applied QFT books available for this.

This books fills in the gaps other books fail to close. There is no "hand waving" of results which was refreshing. As a consequence you begin to understanding the subtle points of QFT and why the theory is the way it is.

As mentioned in the title of the review there are plenty of "pearls". For example, there is an entire chapter on internal and external symmetries and their representations by groups of matrices ( lie groups ). There is a complete description of the importance of Lie alegbras and how the generators of the Lie Algebra create conserved currents and quantities ( operators ) which help one study the evolution of states since these quantities are conserved. By studying the structure of the lie algebra one gains importance insights into the commutative properties of the corresponding conserved current and quantity operators. There is a great section on the derivation of the S matrix and the relations between the "Schrodinger " " Heisenberg " and "Interaction" pictures of QM. We see that the evolution of the interacting state can be entirely derived from the free field hamiltonians with certain restrictions. One thing I really liked about this section is that it explains the limitations of the S matrix approach ( has to do with the assumptions of turning "on and off" interactions )which I have not come across in other standard QFT texts. This motivates the need for functional integral quantization.

Another point of contention I have had with standard presentations of QFT is that they just assume that Noether's theorem from classical field theory can be applied after the quantization process. This book explains mathematically why it can be.

Succinctly, the defects in QFT presentation in other texts is explained, which makes understanding the material more difficult. However, the payoff is that one understands the motivation behind the IDEAS of QFT.

The book is also filled with little "homework" assignments to solidfy knowledge.

The logical and organized presentation of the material made it very difficult for me to put this book down for any length of time until it was finished.

A Great Field Theory Book
Yes this book isn't perfect, but what book on physics is? That aside, there is no question this is an excellent field theory book with a rigorous approach. Physicists could learn from this style to produce better textbooks rather than following their usual mysterious approach to writing. This book is clearly laid out not only in mathematical style but also with clear and concise explanations of many physical concepts. It is in my opinion far better than Weinberg's book, written in a more readable style. It is also better than books like Peskin and Schroeder and Kaku which seem sloppily put together. Put the book together with Ryder and you will have the tools needed to get a good understanding of field theory. The title might be unfortunate, because it might keep physics professors from considering using it in their classes instead of the usual lousy standby's, which is too bad for the students.

fills a niche
This book is far from perfect, but I think it begins to fill an important niche in the world of QFT books: it presents most aspects of the theory, from basic principles to Feynman rules, gauge fields and renormalization, in a form that is unusually accessible to mathematicians. I'm coming at this from the perspective of a mathematician who has tried and failed to learn QFT from a variety of other books, and I wish I had discovered this one before even opening Weinberg or Peskin & Schroeder. Ticciati doesn't completely avoid the kind logical sleight of hand that is commonplace among physicists, but when doing manipulations whose mathematical basis is questionable, he's usually at least honest enough to point this out to the reader. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Lie algebra representation theory, which is closer to a mathematician's presentation of this subject than a physicist's, yet not without plenty of physical motivation. I'd criticize this book only for two things: (1) it's riddled with misprints (some obvious, some not) and (2) some topics are explained rather more concisely than they deserve, and not always in the most logical order; Ticciati has a tendency to use certain subtle concepts implicitly a few sections before he defines them precisely. One may hope that such errors will be corrected in a future edition. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a systematic presentation of Quantum Field Theory from first principles, emphasizing both theoretical concepts and experimental applications. Starting from introductory quantum and classical mechanics, this book develops the quantum field theories that make up the "Standard Model" of elementary processes.It derives the basic techniques and theorems that underly theory and experiment, including those that are the subject of theoretical development. Special attention is also given to the derivations of cross sections relevant to current high-energy experiments and to perturbative quantum chromodynamics, with examples drawn from electron-positron annihilation, deeply inelastic scattering and hadron-hadron scattering. The first half of the book introduces the basic ideas of field theory.The discussion of mathematical issues is everywhere pedagogical and self contained. Topics include the role of internal symmetry and relativistic invariance, the path integral, gauge theories and spontaneous symmetry breaking, and cross sections in the Standard Model and the parton model. The material of this half is sufficient for an understanding of the Standard Model and its basic experimental consequences. The second half of the book deals with perturbative field theory beyond the lowest-order approximation. The issues of renormalization and unitarity, the renormalization group and asymptotic freedom, infrared divergences in quantum electrodynamics and infrared safety in quantum chromodynamics, jets, the perturbative basis of factorization at high energy and the operator product expansion are discussed. Exercises are included for each chapter, and several appendices complement the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

the book is self-contained but poor as a reference
chapters 1 through 8 provide a good introduction to scalar field theory,path integrals,feynman diagrams and vector fields and gauge theories. the discussion on the standard model is not so good and thechapters on renormalization were not clear to me as a beginning student.thebook requires one to go over the material very carefully,and should not, inmy opinion, be used as a reference for a particular topic as every chapterdraws heavily on the previous ones. however it is certainly suitable as atext for a 2 semester graduate course. ... Read more

Product Description
In the period between the birth of quantum mechanics in the 1920s and the late 1960s, V.A. Fock wrote papers that are now deemed classics in the field. This collection explores such fundamental notions of theoretical quantum physics as the Hartree-Fock method, Fock space, Fock symmetry of the hydrogen atom, and the Fock functional method. Fock was a key contributor to one of the most exciting periods of development in 20th-century physics, and this book conveys the essence of that time. These seminal works are a helpful reference for any undergraduate, graduate, or researcher in theoretical and mathematical physics, especially those specializing in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first introductory textbook on quantum field theory to be written from the point of view of condensed matter physics. As such, it presents the basic concepts and techniques of statistical field theory, clearly explaining how and why they are integrated into modern (and classical) field theory, and includes the latest developments.
Written by an expert in the field, with a broad experience in teaching and training, it manages to present such substantial topics as phases and phase transitions or solitons and instantons in an accessible and concise way.
Divided into two parts, the first covers fundamental physics and the mathematics background needed by students in order to enter the field, while the second part discusses applications of quantum field theory to a few basic problems. The emphasis here lies on how modern concepts of quantum field theory are embedded in these approaches, and also on the limitations of standard quantum field theory techniques in facing 'real' physics problems.
Throughout, there are numerous end-of-chapter problems, and a free solutions manual is available for lecturers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

some good content, but not terribly accessible
A lot of the interesting bits are covered in the appendix, but I found it too dense to attempt to read (an attempt to cram too much into a short book).

After learning the subject from other sources this would probably be interesting to revisit to get a historical perspective, but I don't rate it high for learning from.

Bad from title to end
The only thing mysterious here is how this great scientist has managed to muddle up his own theory in this book to the point where its unintelligible.It takes him a chapter to state that the electron does not have a velocity or a path in the classical sense.And why give this book such a blatant appealing title to lure beginners to pay money for this trash.No examples or end-of-chapter problems either.Read Lev Landau instead.

A Good Hard Read
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It uses technical language (which can at times can become difficult), to express the physical context surrounding the development of Quantum mechanics, and deal with the matter at hand (pardon the pun). Quantum theory has a reputation as being difficult, confronting and unbelievable. However this book expresses logically and in detail, the physical principles of the Quantum theory, by the great Werner Heisenberg himself.
A great book if your thought needs provoking...

Heisenberg's motivation
Not really for beginners in spite of appearances, this book sketches Heisenberg's path in discovering the canonical commutation rules of quantum mechanics. After trying unsuccessfully for years to quantize the helium atom via the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rules (which attempt Einstein had already explained in 1917 to be hopeless, because the classical 3-body problem is nonintegrable), Heisenberg was finally motivated by the example of relativity (where absolute time had to be abandoned) to give up the assumption that the position and momentum of a point particle are simultaneously predictable. To follow Heisenberg's reasoning the reader must first understand action-angle variables in classical mechanics. With Einstein's 1917 paper in hindsight, the three body problem representing the helium atom energy spectrum was finally approximated semi-clasically around 1990 based on a path-integral approximation to a chaotic Hamiltonian system.

A classic in quantum mechanics
This book is the standard introduction to - well, to the physical principles underlying the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. While it is dated in terms of that mathematical formalism, it has never been superseded in its analyses. Every serious student of quantum physics will encounter it, sooner or later, in the original or in paraphrases in newer monographs on quantum theory. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive and progressive new text presents a variety of topics that are only briefly touched on in other books; this text provides a thorough introduction to the techniques of quantum field theory, which is the theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of field-like systems or, equivalently, of many-body systems. Covering topics such as Feynman diagrams and path integrals, the author emphasizes the path integral approach, the Wilsonian approach to renormalization, and the physics of non-abelian gauge theory. Banks provides a thorough treatment of groundbreaking topics such as quark confinement and chiral symmetry breaking, topics not typically covered in other introductory texts. The Standard Model of particle physics is also discussed in detail. Connections with condensed matter physics are explored, and there is a brief, but detailed, treatment of non-perturbative semi-classical methods. Ideal for graduate students in high-energy physics and condensed matter physics, the book contains many problems, which help students practice the key techniques of quantum field theory. ... Read more

Product Description
The concept of Quantum Physics led Einstein to state that "God does not play dice". The difficulty he, and others, had with Quantum Physics was the great conceptual leap it requires taking from conventional ways of thinking about the physical world. Alastair Rae's introductory exploration into this area has been hailed as a "masterpiece of clarity" and is an engaging guide to the theories offered. This revised edition contains a new chapter covering theories developed during the past decade. Alastair Rae has been a Lecturer, a Senior Lecturer, then Reader in Quantum Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at University of Birmingham from 1967-2003. His publications include the First Edition of Quantum Physics, (Cambridge, 1994) and Quantum Mechanics (Institute of Physics, 2002), now in its Fourth Edition. First Edition Pb (1994): 0-521-46716-0 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent Book
I have read many books about the subject, they were ok but always missing something. I found this book as complete as it can be. His coverage for non-locality, EPR paradox, Bell's theorem,and the many interpretations of the quantum mechanics (Copenhagen, many worlds, Wigner's interpretation relating to the mind of the observer...) are well presented and heavily explained. I recomend this book to all the readers in physics. I hope that you will enjoy as I did.

For those with a little background a great book
Be warned, this book assumes you know a little about quantum physics to begin with.It's not going to walk you through all the basics of the field.But for those who've had an introduction to the concepts of quantum physics, it's a great examination of the conceptual problems of quantum physics.Don't be fooled by its short length -- this is a book to be read slowly, re-read, an digested.The discussion of the EPR paradox and Bell's Theory is especially good, because it's more technical and mathematical than those in other intro books, and while therefore more difficult, it's also more rewarding.

Don't tell God what to do
A. Rae struggles with the conceptual and philosophical implications of quantum physics (qf).
His book contains excellent explanations of the destruction of determinism, because uncertainty and indeteterminism are built into qf's very foundations. He also rejects the 'hidden variables' solution to solve qf's apparent contradictions. He shows also the fundamental opposition between Einstein and Bohr.
Unfortunately, this book contains a comment on the out-of-date Popper-Eccles discussion on the body/mind problem and their statement that the mind is not subject to the laws of physics. This problem has been resolved (see V. Ramachandran's linguistic solution in 'Phantoms in the brain', or G. Edelman's 'A universe of consciousness').
But I found certain flaws in the author's reasoning due mainly to the choice of bad examples.
Firstly, let me state one fundamental specification: reality is a process, not a fact (L. Smolin).
That is the reason why his ultimate question 'If reality is only what is observed ...' is not a good one.
A qf measurement does not create the 'only' reality. Protons, electrons, dead or alive cats, DNA mutations exist, even if they are not observed. A qf measurement is part of the universal process. In qf we only measure complementarities (properties) as Bohr stated.
Secondly, A. Rae states that macroscopic processes are irreversible (the second law of thermodynamics) and microscopic ones reversible.
For reversibility he chooses as example the collision of two molecules. I doubt firmly that in our universe after the collision the molecules can (without an exterior intervention) go back to their initial states. Those interactions are 'theoretically' reversible.
On the other hand, the life or death of a cat is a macroscopic event. The cat example is a good 'figure' to explain the qf theory, but it is a bad one to build a conceptual or philosophical theory on it. Nobody will calculate the outcome of a certain event based on a dead/alive scenario if a simple look at the cat's condition can eliminate 50% of the possibilities. The same goes for the DNA mutations.
The theory of I. Prigogyne (his books are difficult) is certainly a step in the good direction. As reality is a process, indeterminism should also be the fundamental cornerstone for classical physics, but naturally not in our daily Euclidian life.
In the case of the 'many worlds' question, I prefer Rudolf Peierls's solution where he proposes to speak of many world 'possibilities' (see P. Davies' 'The ghost in the atom').
This is a thought-provoking book. Not to be missed.

Long review for a good short book
Since the formulation of quantum theory in the 1920s the Copenhagen Interpretation of reality has been the mainstream view among physicists. But this interpretation has been uncomfortable for many, because it raises a number of paradoxes. The lack of cause and effect, (indeterminism), the so called "observer effect (quantum measurement problem), and non-locality, are among them.
Waisting no time in this 118 page book, Alastair Rae grabs the reader in the very first sentence of the book by quoting Albert Einstein's famous pronouncement: "Does God play dice [with the universe]?"
Using impeccable logic and only a bit of mathematical jargon, which can be circumvented by the reader, Rae sets out to solve many of these paradoxes. Citing experiments with polarized photons of light, he asks: What exactly constitutes a measurement? Does a measurement occur when a record is made? Or does it take consciousness to collapse the wave into a definitive particle? Is there a resolution to the Schrodinger's Cat paradox? How can we explain nonlocality?
Rae systematically entertains and rebuts in a convincing and objective way many different philosophies put forward to make sense of quantum reality. Some have claimed, most notably Niels Bohr, that it's the interaction of the partilce with a macor-measuring device that instigates the collapse. Others believe that it takes a consciousness to create reality. Still others, looking for a way to save determinism, and circumvent the measurement problem latch on to Hugh Everett's many-world interpetation.
Ironically as Rae points out most scientists claim to be "positivists", believing that it is meaningless to speculate on unobservable quantities. yet, they apparently have no problem believing in a myriad of unobservable and unmeasureable universes, completely and irreversibly cut off from our own.
In the final two chapters Rae objectively entertains what he believes is the most likely resolution of the quantum measurement problem. His idea was first proposed by Ilya Prigonine who won the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of irreversible chemical thermodynamics. The classical idea put forward by Prigonine states that there is an irreversible arrow of time and the second law of thermodynamics is never violated.Citing Prigonine's work, Rae explains: If no measurement is made of a quantum system no impression has been made on the universe, and the information which could have been obtained can be reversed and destroyed. If, however, a measurement is made, a change of some sort has occurred, either in the measuring device or our brain. The measurement has impacted the universe in some manner, and as a result the macro system must now follow the second law of thermodynamics, which has and arrow of time and hence is irreversible.
Rae states that "if we follow Prigogine's approach, indeterminism becomes an implicit part of classical physics.
Has Alastair Rae accomplished what he set out to do in this Book? Not quite.At the beginning of the book he states that he will tackle the problem of indeterminism, yet he spends most of his time attempting to explain the quantum measurement problem which is something quite different. And when he does address determinsim it falls short on several points.
First, a Prigogine macro system is indeed unpredictable, but it is not indeterminate as Rae seems to imply. Rather, it is a determinate and irreversible system having and arrow of time and an initial cause, no matter how subtle.
Secondly, he fails to address the process of nuclear decay, and the jump of the electron from one orbit to another--both of which are "real" and indeterminate.
Finally, in regard to the quantum measurement problem. Rae does not take into account recent experiments done with photons as cited in Scientific American (November 1991). In this particular experimental set-up at the Universtity of Rochester, researchers demonstrated that "The mere possibility that the paths can be distinguished is enough to wipe out the interference pattern." There is no measurement made, no record made, and no interaction with a macro system. Yet, the collapse of the wave happens without interacting with a macro sytem. Therefore, it seems that Ray's explanation of a resolution to the problem by creating a record in a classical Prigogine system is invalid.
This is still a very well written, concise, and provacative book and I would recommend it for those who want to understand the basic principles and paradoxes of quantum reality. This review written by: Quantum Reality1, author of "Quantum Reality: A New Philosophical Perspective."

Thank you, Alastair Rae
It has only been once in a great while that a thin little tome has taught me so much, and been so much fun.Before Quantum Physics by Alastair Rae, the last one I remember was Richard Feynmann's QED.I now feel like I have at least a near understanding of Bell's Theorem, EPR, SQUIDS, and an assortment of things and concepts that were tantalizing but vague until now.Thank you, Alastair, you're a good teacher.And, the little surprise at the end, Prigogine's possible answer.I'd always found him intriguing.Now I know why. ... Read more

Product Description
This book, full of lucid, penetrating insights into the nature of consciousness, definitively closes the gap between mind, matter, and cosmic intelligence. Parrish elegantly identifies the pathways to highest consciousness--something with which we're all in touch but don't necessarily realize.

Starting with a layman's examination of Freud's psychology, the author moves seamlessly through existentialism, cognitive systems, medical theory, quantum physics, and mysticism to arrive at his unique synthesis of them all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Physics for ACIM students
I'm still slowly reading this book. I like it, but since it, like everything else I see, doesn't mean anything, it's taking awhile to absorb.

Oh boy !
Dr Parrish may be a good or even excellent psychoanalyst. But when he starts writing about physics things go terribly wrong. He mixes up relativity and quantum mechanics,and from known facts draws conclusionsthat are utterly wrong. It is clear that he read alot of (popular?) physics books. It is also clear he did not understand much of them.

Great synthesis of psychology, spirituality and physics
I have read over 5o books exploring a synthesis of the subjects I collectively refer to as consciousness and Dr. Parrish's is the most informative. He ties together physics, psychology and spirituality from a non-dualistic point of view,. The subject matter may be difficult to grasp yet the work is concise. Although some may need to learn more about tangent concepts introduced, the work is convincing and offers a deep, meaningful worldview.

Rough around the edges
David Parrish says that the fields of psychology, mysticism, and quantum physics have all contributed to the notion that the reality we percieve in the world is not an objective reality, but a reality which is colored by our beliefs and our conditioning.Modern psychology, mysticism, and quantum theory have all elucidated the fact that we are particpants in creating and altering our reality.

Parrish says that modern psychology has shed the Freudian notion that our behavior is determined by subconscious obsessions and desires, and external events that are beyond our control. In its place existential and cognitive psychology have for the most part disavowed the subconscious mind and have embraced a more seamless and holistic consciousness, a consciousness of freedom in which we are responsible for our own acts.

Likewise, mysticism, which can be defined as a pathway to understanding reality through a "transcendence" or direct experience, has for centuries taught us that the subject/object duality is a grand illusion, and quantum theory has once and for all demonstrated through theory and experiment that in the subatomic realm there are non-local connections between particles that have been intertwined.

Parrish does an admirable job of drawing toghether the three disciplines, especially psychology and mysticism, however, his understanding of the principles of physics are a bit disappointing for the knowledgeable reader when he attempts to describe such subjects as entropy, the EPR proposal, Bell's theorem of inequality, and some of the basic tenants of quantum theory.

For example, he defines entropy as a state of chaos when, in fact, entropy is simply the tendency of systems to move toward equilibrium--a system's most probable state.He says that the old scientific paradigm is characterized by chance and separateness, while the new paradigm is one of wholeness and harmony, when, in fact, the old scientific paradigm was deterministic while the new paradigm--quantum theory-- is characterized by chance and probability of the purest form.He describes Bell's theorem in terms of "non-local causation", and energy fields, but Bell's theorem of inequality put the final nail into the coffin of hidden variables such as energy fields as an explanation for non-local events.And he misrepresents the EPR argument when he says, "They proposed through errorless mathematical reasoning that if quantum theory were correct, then a change in the spin of one particle in a two-particle system would affect its twin simultaneously, even if the two had been widely separated in the meantime."Instead, Einstein argued the opposite position.And not to belabor the point, he states:"Research has found that in the world of subparticle matter, the state of consciousness of the observer determines the outcome."This completely misstates the "observer affect".Many experiments have been conducted in which a conscious observer is unnecessary in the collapse of the quantum wave function.In an experiment conducted by investigators at the University of Rochester and featured in the November 1991 issue of "Scientific American", researcher Leonard Mandel said, "The mere possibility that the paths [of the photons] can be distiguished is enough to wipe out the interference pattern."Extracting information from a system alone can collapse the wave function.

Parrish's main premise is valid and I think he succeeds in demonstrating that the emerging fields of science have come to an understanding that the universe is an undivided whole, and that we are responsible for creating our own reality, but by the end of the book he destroys his own premises by dividing and subdividing consciousness into layers, and making religious references to God, spiritualism, and miracles.The book begins with so much promise, but it quickly spins out of control.For that reason I give it three stars.

This review by David Kreiter:Author of Quantum Reality: A New Philosophical Perspective.

Value-added, transformational reading
Nothing I See Means Anything is an excellent, insightful, and VALUE-ADDED review of Freudian, existentialist, and cognitive systems psychology, quantum physics, and mysticism. Although I had studied all these subjects previously, I gained a great deal reading the way this book distilled and integrated them. As I read it, many times I said to myself, "This is incredible!" I also enjoyed the unique way the author tied these topics to spirituality and specifically to A Course in Miracles. I feel very fortunate to be exposed to this work.Hidden Dimensions ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Philosophically Inconsequential Reflections
Werner Heisenberg's Copenhagen interpretation of modern quantum theory has long been the majority view.It includes two theses: 1) the wave/particle duality thesis that wave and particle are two manifestations of one and the same entity, and 2) the scientific realism thesis that the theory is literally descriptive of microphysical reality.

This book's editors, Cushing (a physicist) and a Reverend McMullin (a philosopher), both members of the University of Notre Dame faculty, dissent from the majority view.Cushing rejects the Copenhagen interpretation, and the Reverend McMullin rejects the realist thesis.

In 1935 Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen ("EPR") proposed a hypothetical experiment to demonstrate the present quantum theory's incompleteness by showing that it implies action at a distance, which the three co-authors (EPR) viewed as absurd.

In 1964 Bell published his locality inequality, and in 1982 Aspect, Dalibard, and Roger implemented the actual EPR experiment with an outcome that corroborated the Copenhagen interpretation by violating Bell's inequality.

Based on their articles in this book I see the Reverend McMullin as clearly the junior partner of the two editors of this book.The Reverend's contribution is typical of his other writings - merely a recitation of some well-known pre-twentieth-century history, in this case about the idea of action at a distance.

Quine once quipped that people take up philosophy either because they like philosophy or because they like history.Quine is clearly among the former, and I place the Reverend McMullin among the latter.

Some of the articles are reprints, but two original works are those by the physicists Teller and Howard. They postulate "holism."But holism means little to physicists except as a name for what has already been described by their experimental findings and physical theory.

I believe that it is better just to let the theory speak for itself in its own terms, and to accept it as a literal and realistic description.Such scientific realism is what Quine calls "ontological relativity."

The book's title notwithstanding the historic philosophical consequences of quantum theory have not been discussed in this book.They are the emergence of the contemporary pragmatist philosophy of language and of science, which include the thesis of ontological relativity.The two editors seem to me to bring a nineteenth-century philosophy to quantum theory.

Google my book titled History of Twentieth-Century Philosophy of Science at my web site philsci with free downloads by chapter.

Thomas J. Hickey
... Read more

Product Description
This Third Edition, like its two predecessors, provides a detailed account of the basic theory needed to understand the properties of light and its interactions with atoms, in particular the many nonclassical effects that have now been observed in quantum-optical experiments.The earlier chapters describe the quantum mechanics of various optical processes, leading from the classical representation of the electromagnetic field to the quantum theory of light. The later chapters develop the theoretical descriptions of some of the key experiments in quantum optics.Over half of the material in this Third Edition is new. It includes topics that have come into prominence over the last two decades, such as the beamsplitter theory, squeezed light, two-photon interference, balanced homodyne detection, travelling-wave attenuation and amplification, quantum jumps, and the ranges of nonlinear optical processes important in the generation of nonclassical light. The book is written as a textbook, with the treatment as a whole appropriate for graduate or postgraduate students, while earlier chapters are also suitable for final-year undergraduates. Over 100 problems help to intensify the understanding of the material presented. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Introduction
This is a decent book. I'd agree that it can be dry and focused on equations more than physics at times, but it offers a very balanced selection of topics, and clearer explanations than many physics books.

I particularly like the progression from old quantum theory to semiclassical theory to the fully quantized theory. It emphasizes the useful aspects of each theory, in particular the usefulness of the old theory in terms of simplicity and accuracy in many situations. History may not always be the best approach to science, but it works if you emphasize the usefulness of simple models and how they follow from more sophisticated models.

Simple introduction...but not sufficient.
For an introduction to quantum optics, the author is to be highly commended for keeping the mathematics and derivations straightforward and easily followed by a senior or 1st year graduate student in experimentalphysics.Unfortunately, he does not go beyond the math to discuss thephysics which the mathematics describe.The problems he includes forstudents to work out are all derivation of formula with absolutely noapplication of formula.By the time I got throught the book, I realizedthat I still had no real intuition of how a laser worked, or anyunderstanding of how to apply the quantized radiation field to any realproblems.

So if you're looking for a handbook to give you a simple tourof the mathematics in the quantum theory of light, this is the book foryou.If you're looking for a more comprehensive treatment, look elsewhere. The selection of topics is very limited:too little math for a theorist,and too little physics for the experimentalist. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook covers, step-by-step, important topics in quantum mechanics, from traditional subjects like bound states, perturbation theory and scattering, to more current topics such as coherent states, quantum Hall effect, spontaneous symmetry breaking, superconductivity, and basic quantum electrodynamics with radiative corrections. The large number of diverse topics are covered in concise, highly focused chapters, and are explained in simple but mathematically rigorous ways. Derivations of results and formula are carried out from beginning to end, without leaving students to complete them. With over 200 exercises to aid understanding of the subject, this textbook provides a thorough grounding for students planning to enter research in physics. Several exercises are solved in the text, and password-protected solutions for remaining exercises are available to instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521877602. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thanks Prof. Desai!
A very generous author sharing his knowledge and guiding you through a modern exposition of Quantum Mechanics.
Great book!.
Please keep on writing!
The publisher should have used lighter weight paper. This book weighs a ton!
Amazon should give this text greater visibility!

Former student's review.
Caveat:I have not yet obtained my copy of the book.I can only write from my experience with the draft, which were essentially lecture notes used as the core text for graduate quantum mechanics at UC Riverside.

I took Professor Desai's quantum courses, and also electromagnetics from him.

His book is the extension of lecture notes provided to his students and developed over several iterations of teaching graduate quantum mechanics.The nice thing is he is including new material on more advanced topics we did not have time to cover when I took his lectures.

I have studied from many texts.Shankar, Sakurai, and Liboff.I'm glad that Desai's book is now available, and am looking forward to getting my copy.

I can say that Professor Desai lets the math speak for itself.Compared to other physics authors, Professor Desai is habitually explicit and concise.Looking at the table of contents, Desai is covering more real-world topics in dedicated chapters than a current popular text, and leading the student to second quantization, with only 200 pages more.He's following the example of Schiff.

And there are some nice pedagogical features to the book as well.Gauge theory is treated early on in Desai.So you're basically gaining knowledge useful for both E&M and quantum in one course of study.Since the student isgoing to be taking both at the same time, this is good.This "dual gain" is also present with Desai's treatment of Green's functions and path integration, which will carry over to E&M also.This is what I experienced taking his course.


The book is a definite buy, that's easy... the real question is what wine to drink while reading it?

Extremely Detailed Mathematics, Everything Derived for You
As a student of Dr. Desai's, I've had first-hand experience with working through this textbook, in the context of the author's own lectures. This book is extremely good for working through derivations of various quantum mechanics concepts, and mathematically, is quite rigorous. I think this book would be most useful for the graduate student theorist, who is perhaps not as interested in experimental application of quantum mechanics as an experimentalist.

The end of chapter problems are at times esoteric and mathematical, applying linear algebra to deconstruct an operator with no quantum mechanical context, however, often, the mathematics from these problems appear far ahead in the text. I would recommend the student also use another textbook to gain a more 'experimentalist' perspective on quantum mechanics.

This book contains some errors (it is only in its first edition). At times the errors are minor, but other times they can be more significant. The most common error seems to be false equation references, or a missing 'h-bar' and factors of 'c'. Very occasionally (I have seen one or two within the first 300 pages) there is a serious error, such as using an angular momentum vector instead of a magnetic field vector.

I think this book is an excellent resource, and is almost completely self contained. It will teach you the tools and mathematical back-bone of quantum mechanics, but leaves rigorous applications of the subject to the student's imagination.

... Read more

Product Description
Provides the framework for many fundamental theories in modern physics, and over the last few years the growing interest in its historical and philosophical foundations. Suited for anyone with an interest in the foundations of quantum physics. ... Read more

Product Description
Second edition of the successful textbook which has emerged from a lecture series. The compact introduction addresses graduate students with a reasonably good background in physics, notably in quantum mechanics, plus some knowledge in introductory statistical mechanics and solid-state physics.

The authors explain basic concepts from quantum mechanics and computer science which are used throughout the whole field of quantum computing and quantum communication. This second edition reflects the rapid development of the main ideas and techniques, e.g. by including the most recent experiments on cold atoms. ... Read more

Product Description
A new, updated and enhanced edition of the classic work, which was welcomed for its general approach and self-sustaining organization of the chapters.

Written by a highly respected textbook writer and researcher, this book has a more general scope and adopts a more practical approach than other books. It includes applications of condensed matter physics, first developing traditional concepts, including Feynman graphs, before moving on to such key topics as functional integrals, statistical mechanics and Wilson's renormalization group. The author takes care to explain the connection between the latter and conventional perturbative renormalization. Due to the rapid advance and increase in importance of low dimensional systems, this second edition fills a gap in the market with its added discussions of low dimensional systems, including one-dimensional conductors.

All the chapters have been revised, while more clarifying explanations and problems have been added. A free solutions manual is available for lecturers from www.wiley-vch.de/textbooks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Extremely solid for self-teaching
This book is an ideal introduction to quantum field theory for a graduate student. Assuming a strong background in basic quantum mechanics and classical mechanics, Huang develops quantum field in a methodical fashion. In contrast to other popular quantum field theory books (such as Peskin) Huang doesn't leave out important details, especially with regard to the mathematics behind spinor fields. Plus the book is very readable.

A good introduction to the physics behind renormalization
A very good introduction to QFT. It starts with a rather classical account of QED, then develops renormalization and applies it mainly to statistical physics. So the text does not cover non-abelian gauge theories, and is notsufficient for readers who learn QFT for particle physics applications. Butthe exposition of renormalization is really excellent and complete. I likedthe exceptional clarity and lucidity of most calculations, and theexcellent set of problems. Solving them all extends the book's scope farbeyond the table of contents. ... Read more

Product Description
Quantum field theory is the basic theory of elementary particle physics. In recent years, many techniques have been developed that extend and clarify this theory. This book develops quantum field theory starting from its foundation in quantum mechanics and incorporates the most modern methods, giving a thoroughly modern pedagogic account that starts from first principles. The path integral formulation is introduced right at the beginning. The method of dimensional continuation is employed to regulate and renormalize the theory. This facilitates the introduction of the concepts of the renormalization group at an early stage. The notion of spontaneous symmetry breakdown is also introduced early on by the example of superfluid helium. Topics in quantum electrodynamics are described that have an analog in quantum chromodynamics. Some novel techniques are employed, such as the use of dimensional continuation to compute the Lamb shift. This book is appropriate as a graduate level text in theoretical physics and particle physics, and is complete with exercises for practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent pedagogy for a first course in QFT
This is perhaps the ONLY book on QFT which has good pedagogy as essential motivation. Even Peskin-Schroeder does not accomplish this. Everything is explained in all full details without compromise and the problems give theopportunity to learn a lot from the numerous hints provided by the author.The price for this is the limited scope(canonical quantisation is notexposed, nothing on non-abelian gauge, the insistance on path integralsgives a rather one-sided view of the theory), but this is not a defect,it's largely compensated by the quality of the book.

Excellent Textbook
This textbook really puts you through your paces as far a functional integral methods and their applications to QFT go. The only bad bit is that it is 'half-a-book' (in L. Brown's preface) - it doesn't cover non-Abelian gauge theories at all. Excellent for a first course in Quantum Field Theory.

Nice pedegogy
Lowell Brown's QFT text is a nice modernintroduction, but be forwarned that things are developed completely, so there is no room to really cover anything beyond QED.Note that the other review on this page (as of 10/24/97) and teh TOC refer to Rhyder's text, not this one. ... Read more