Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session

Prerequisites

8.322 Quantum Theory II and 8.323 Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I

Description

This course is the second course of the quantum field theory trimester sequence beginning with Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I (8.323) and ending with Relativistic Quantum Field Theory III (8.325). It develops in depth some of the topics discussed in 8.323 and introduces some advanced material.

Texts

Three books will be used in this course.

Buy at Amazon Peskin, Michael E., and Daniel V. Schroeder. An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1995. ISBN: 9780201503975.
A comprehensive and pedagogical treatment of QFT starting from the basics and reaching up to the physics of the standard model.

Buy at Amazon Weinberg, S. The Quantum Theory of Fields. Vol. 1: Foundations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780521550017.
A comprehensive and insightful treatment of the foundations of QFT.

Buy at Amazon ———. The Quantum Theory of Fields. Vol. 2: Modern Applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780521550024.
A detailed presentation of advanced material.

See the readings section for a complete list of recommended texts.

Assignments, Exams, Grading

There are no exams for this course. The course grade will be based 100% on the eight homework assignments. The faculty may alter grades to reflect class participation, improvement, effort and other qualitative measures of performance.

Calendar

LEC # TOPICS
Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
1 Symmetries, Lie Groups and Lie Algebras
2 The Gauge Principle (Quantum Electrodynamics Revisited)
3 Non-Abelian Generalizations: Yang-Mills Theory
4 Non-Abelian Generalizations: Yang-Mills Theory (cont.)
5 Quantization of Non-Abelian Gauge Theories
6 Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) Symmetry, Physical States and Unitarity
General Aspects
7 Field and Mass Renormalizations
8 An Explicit Example
9 Removing Ultraviolet Divergences
10 Unstable Particles and Resonances
11 S-Matrix Elements and LSZ Reduction
General Aspects of QED
12 Renormalized Lagrangian
13 Renormalized Lagrangian (cont.)
14 Vertex Function
15 Anomalous Magnetic Moment
16 Vacuum Polarization
General Renormalization Theory
17 Degrees of Divergences
18 Cancellation of Divergences
19 Cancellation of Divergences (cont.)
Renormalization Group
20 Wilson's Approach to Field Theories
21 Renormalization Group Flow
22 Renormalization Group Flow (cont.)
23 Renormalization Group Flow (cont.); Beta-Functions from the Traditional Approach
24 Beta-Functions from the Traditional Approach (cont.)
25 Beta-Functions from the Traditional Approach (cont.)
26 Beta-Functions from the Traditional Approach (cont.)