Monday, May 16, 2011

Introduction to Quantum Field Theory

In the 20th century, the first paradigm in physics was the probabilistic approach to the interaction of particles in the atomic world. Since then quantum field theory (QFT) for the interaction of particle fields via force fields is developed. Undoubtedly, to solve the equation of motions numerous advanced techniques are also developed. I use quantum field calculations to get the probability (amplitude) of various kind of interaction between the elementary particles. Then, compare the results/implications to the experiments.
I spent a lot of times on studying QFT, and there are still a lot of things to learn. Indeed, I do that every day. After the revolution of the www, or should I say search machines like Google, it is much easier to reach the information you seek. I have found a lot of resources on QFT, many of them are downloaded, and wait to be reviewed, and many of them are done. Along the way, since, it is in the nature of learning that you think you understand the idea by putting it in the pre-learned concepts in your mind. But, most of the time you do not get the concept/idea entirely, and just fill in the blank areas in time. It also possible that you misunderstand some of it. By solving problems, re-reading the textbooks and other resources it is possible to correct the mistakes and the blank areas in your mind. Then, you understand/learn the concept. Therefore, it is vital and a strong requirement for you to read as many resources as you find, repeat all the steps in the proofs so that you could be on the shoulders of the giants before you.

Here I have gathered a list, where you can find valuable lectures on QFT, either you can watch and read.

Books and Text:
Videos
  1. Quantum Field Theory by Bernard de Wit @ CERN (1991) 
  2. Lectures on QFT by Kevin Cahill
  3. Explorations In Particle Theory
  4. TASI 2010 Videos especially the one given by Matthew Strassler about the Higgs sector in SM and fundamentals in Particle Physics.
I have many links to post, but I don't have time to update :)

Update: I have added the lectures given by de Witt, it is presented so long ago like 20 years ago at CERN, and just recently I had spare time to watch and go through the lectures. I must say that the details given in these lectures are really fascinating. To grasp those details from somewhere else is almost impossible (too much time consuming). Otherwise, you should read many textbooks and do a lot of problem-solving. I also checked his web page for notes, and I have also found many resources. The notes, indeed, have many details and you see a lot when you walk through this wild topic compared to other textbooks.

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