Elementary quantum field theory
Vahid Karimipour
Sharif University of Technology
Description and Prerequisites
This is a one-semester course on fundamentals of quantum field theory as mainly used in areas other than high energy physics, like condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, quantum information and the like. Of course it also touches the basic formalism of relativisitic quantum field theory. It is suitable for students who need only an elementary introduction to the subject. It is open to all graduate and undergraduate of physics and mathematics. At the end of the course, the student is supposed to know only the basic concepts and techniques of quantum field theory as used in various areas of theoretical physics. Students who want to study high energy physics are advised to take the three- semester Quantum Field Theory course.
Lecture Notes
These lecture notes are not complete and are being developed as I teach the course from time to time.
- Classical Mechanics of Particles
- Classical Mechanics of Fields
- Symmetry
- Motivations for Quantum Field Theory
- Second Quantization, Non-Relativistic Quantum Fields
- Quantization of classical fields, Collective excitations
- Lorentz Group and its representations
- Klein-Gordon Field
- Dirac Field
- Path integrals in quantum and statistical fields (part I)
- Path integrals in quantum and statistical fields (part II)
- Applications of second quantization in condensed matter physics (part I)
- Applications of second quantization in condensed matter physics (part II)
- Gauge field theory and the standard model
