PHY 5667 : Quantum Field Theory A

Lectures: 11:00-12:15, Tuesday and Thursday, in UPL 107.

Professor : Laura Reina, 510 Keen Building, 644-9282, e-mail: click here

Text :

Other suggested reference books: For a very interesting historical introduction:

Topics:

We will cover the first seven chapters of the textbook. This will allow us to introduce the classical and quantum theory of fields, the role of global and local (or gauge) symmetries, and to discuss in detail the case of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), one of the most successful theories of modern and contemporary Physics. We will explicitly show the renormalizability of the theory, and calculate several physical observables thoroughly. This will set the basis for further developments to be seen in the second part of the course, Quantum Field Theory B. Here is a summary of the topics covered in each lecture so far:

Date Topics covered Reference
08/27 Syllabus. Historical introduction to QFT and QED [SW](Ch.1),[Scw]
08/29 Classical systems of fields: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism. Noether's Theorem. [BS]+Notes,[Text](Sec. 2.2)
09/03 Noether's Theorem, examples (momentum, energy, and angular momentum conservation).
Lorentz group: brief review.		 [BS]+Notes,[SW](Sec. 2.3)
09/05 Klein-Gordon field. Quantization of a system of real scalar fields. [Text](Sec. 2.3)
09/10 Klein-Gordon field: Heisemberg representation. Causality and the K-G propagator. [Text](Sec. 2.4)
09/12 Lorentz invariance in wave equations. Properties of representations of the Lorentz group. [Text](Sec. 3.1)
09/17 The Dirac field: the Dirac equation, properties of the Dirac matrix algebra. [IZ]+[Text](Sec. A.2, A.3)
09/19 The Dirac field: relativistic invariance of the Dirac equation, Lagrangian formalism, free particle solution [Text](Sec. 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)
09/24 The Dirac Field: quantization (part 1). [Text](Sec. 3.5)
09/26 The Dirac Field: quantization (part 2) [Text](Sec. 3.5, 3.6)
10/01 Interactive Fields: general overview and introduction to Perturbation Theory [Text](Sec. 4.1)
10/08 Perturbative expansion of correlation functions: general structure [Text](Sec. 4.2)
10/10 Perturbative expansion of correlation functions: Wick's theorem [Text](Sec. 4.3)
10/15 Perturbative expansion of correlation functions: Feynman diagrams, Part I [Text](Sec. 4.4)
10/17 Perturbative expansion of correlation functions: Feynman diagrams, Part II [Text](Sec. 4.4)
10/22 Cross Sections and the S-matrix: Part I [Text](Secs. 4.5)
10/24 Cross Sections and the S-matrix: Part II [Text](Secs. 4.5-4.6)
10/29 Feynman rules for fermions [Text](Secs. 4.7-4.8)
10/31 Feynman rules for Yukawa theory and QED. [Text](Secs. 4.7-4.8)
11/5 Introduction and discussion of e^+e^- --> mu^+ mu^- scattering. [Text](Sec.5.1)
11/7 e^+e^- --> mu^+ mu^- scattering: polarized cross sections, physical implications. [Text](Sec.5.2)
11/12 Crossing symmetry (e^- mu^- --> e^- mu^- scattering). Compton scattering. [Text](Secs. 5.4,5.5)
11/14 Introduction to Radiative corrections. [Text](Secs. 6.1)
11/19 Evaluation of the electron vertex function, part I [Text](Secs. 6.3)
11/21 Evaluation of the electron vertex function, part II [Text](Secs. 6.3-6.4)
11/26 Real emission, Cancellation of IR divergences. [Text](Secs. 6.1,6.4, and notes)
12/03 Field Strength Renormalization, the electron self-energy. Ward Identity. [Text](Secs. 7.1,7.4)
12/05 Mass renormalization. The photon self-energy and charge renormalization. Dimensional Regularization. [Text](Secs. 7.5)

[Text],[IZ],[SW],[Scw] : see above
[BS] : N.N. Bogoliubov and D.V. Shirkov, Introduction to the Theory of Quantized Fields, John Wiley and Sons Ed.

Office Hours: Thursday, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

You are also welcome to contact me whenever you have questions, either by e-mail or in person.

Homework:

A few homeworks will be assigned during the semester, tentatively every other week. The assignments and their solutions will be posted on this homepage.

Exams and Grades.

The grade will be based 70% on the homework and 30% on the Final Exam, and will be roughly determined according to the following criterium:

100-85% : A or A-
84-70% : B- to B+
below 70% : C

Here is a summary of your grades, including the homework and Final exam separate grades.

Attendance, participation, and personal interest will also be important factors in determining your final grade, and will be used to the discretion of the instructor.

The Final exam is a take-home exam and has been distributed in class on Tuesday November, 26 2002. The updated text of the exam (one sign corrected to match the convention used in your book) and its solution are available on this Web page. The solutions of the exam have to placed in my mail box by the evening (no later than 10:00 p.m.) of Friday December, 13 2002. I will be available for question as well as extra discussion meetings (with a reasonable group of people) till the morning of Wednesday, December, 11 2002.

Attendance. Regular, responsive and active attendance is highly recommended. A student absent from class bears the full responsibility for all subject matter and information discussed in class.

Absence. Please inform me in advance of any excused absence (e.g., religious holiday) on the day an assignment is due. In case of unexpected absences, due to illness or other serious problems, we will discuss the modality with which you will turn in any missed assignment on a case by case basis.

Assistance. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); 2) bring a letter to me from SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations and what they are. This should be done within the first week of class. This and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

Honor Code. Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in the Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook. The first paragraph reads: The Academic Honor System of Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.

Laura Reina
Last modified: Wed Jul 28 10:31:14 EDT 2004