Advanced Particle Physics Volume I: Particles, Fields, and Quantum Electrodynamics

by Oleg Boyarkin

Helping readers understand the complicated laws of nature, Advanced Particle Physics Volume Particles, Fields, and Quantum Electrodynamics explains the calculations, experimental procedures, and measuring methods of particle physics. It also describes modern physics devices, including accelerators, elementary particle detectors, and neutrino telescopes. The book first introduces the mathematical basis of modern quantum field theory. It presents the most pertinent information on group theory, proves Noether’s theorem, and determines the major motion integrals connected with both space and internal symmetry. The second part on fundamental interactions and their unifications discusses the main theoretical preconditions and experiments that allow for matter structure to be established at the quark-lepton level. In the third part, the author investigates the secondary quantized theories of free fields with spin 0, 1/2, and 1, with particular emphasis on the neutrino field. The final part focuses on quantum electrodynamics, the first successfully operating quantum field theory. Along with different renormalization schemes of quantum field theory, the author covers the calculation methods for polarized and unpolarized particles, with and without inclusion of radiative corrections. Each part in this volume contains problems to help readers master the calculation techniques and generalize the results obtained. To improve understanding of the computation procedures in quantum field theory, the majority of the calculations have been performed without dropping complex intermediate steps.

656 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2010