No-Nonsense Quantum Field Theory

Book excerpt: Learning quantum field theory doesn’t have to be hard What if there were a book that allowed you to see the whole picture and not just tiny parts of it? Thoughts like this are the reason that No-Nonsense Quantum Field Theory now exists. What will you learn from this book? Get to know all fundamental concepts — Grasp what a quantum field is, why we use propagators to describe its behavior, and how Feynman diagrams help us to make sense of field interactions. Learn to describe quantum field theory mathematically — Understand the meaning and origin of the most important equations: the Klein-Gordon equation, the Dirac equation, the Proca equation, the Maxwell equations, and the canonical commutation/anticommutation relations. Master important quantum field theory interactions — Read fully annotated, step-by-step calculations and understand the general algorithm we use to particle interactions. Get an understanding you can be proud of —Learn about advanced topics like renormalization and regularization, spontaneous symmetry breaking, the renormalization group equations, non-perturbative phenomena, and effective field models. No-Nonsense Quantum Field Theory is one the most student-friendly book on quantum field theory ever written. Here’s why. First of all, it's nothing like a formal university lecture. Instead, it’s like a casual conservation with a more experienced student. This also means that nothing is assumed to be “obvious” or “easy to see”. Each chapter, each section, and each page focuses solely on the goal to help you understand. Nothing is introduced without a thorough motivation and it is always clear where each equation comes from. The book ruthlessly focuses on the fundamentals and makes sure you’ll understand them in detail. The primary focus on the readers’ needs is also visible in dozens of small features that you won’t find in any other textbook In total, the book contains more than 100 illustrations that help you understand the most important concepts visually. In each chapter, you’ll find fully annotated equations and calculations are done carefully step-by-step. This makes it much easier to understand what’s going on. Whenever a concept is used that was already introduced previously there is a short sidenote that reminds you where it was first introduced and often recites the main points. In addition, there are summaries at the beginning of each chapter that make sure you won’t get lost.