Syllabus and textbook
- Peskin & Schroeder, "An introduction to quantum field theory", part I, chapters 2-7. You must expect to spend much time to go through the material each week. You will have to do derivations on your own while you're reading.
- All exercises and midterm assignment.
- The lecture note "The S matrix and the LSZ reduction formula".
Support material
The textbook by Peskin & Schroeder is somewhat compact, and most student will find it useful to consult other sources, for example:
Introductory texts:
- D. Tong, Lectures on quantum field theory. Very nice material which goes well along with Peskin & Schroeder.
- A. Das, Lectures on quantum field theory. The treatment and derivations are spelled out in much more detail than in Peskin & Schroeder.
- A. Lahiri & P. B. Pal, A first book in quantum field theory. Like Das' book, this is a relatively simple text, but it contains more of the needed material.
- F. Mandl & G. Shaw, Quantum field theory. First part focuses on QED. Nice treatment of canonical quantization of the electromagnetic field. Also relatively simple treatment of some regularization and renormalization.
- M. D. Schwartz, Quantum field theory and the standard model.
More advanced texts:
- A. Duncan, The conceptual framework of quantum field theory. Some detailed discussions, e.g. on (how to get around) Haag's theorem, LSZ, ...
- S. Weinberg, The quantum theory of fields, vol. 1, especially ch. 2 on relativistic quantum mechanics, including symmetries and (not necessarily free) particle states.
Lectures and group sessions
- Lectures: Monday 12-14 and Wednesday 10-12 in Kristian Birkelands auditorium. The lectures will not be recorded. The lectures will assume that you have done the exercises for the previous weeks.
- Group sessions: Monday 14-16 in ?397, immediately after the lecture. Here you may work with exercises, and ask questions about anything related to the course.
Weekly exercises
The exercises are voluntary and hints/answers/solutions will be available. In each problem set there are some exercises without full solutions. This is done for a reason; being a master student you are expected to understand when you have provided a complete argument. Ask if you are not sure!
It is important that you don't look up the solution before you have done the exercise (or at least struggled with it)! One of the problems in the final exam will contain a question from the exercises. The exercises will support the lectures, help you to understand, and complement the material in Peskin & Schroeder.
Other courses you may take this semester may have several mandatory assignments and/or midterm exam. It is of course up to you if you want to prioritize these courses over QFT, given that most exercises in QFT are voluntary. However, if you do, you will probably fail this course. QFT is regarded as a difficult course, and you must work seriously every week.
A first version of the problem sets and solutions is already available. But since they may be a little bit revised, it is recommended to reload before you start.
Midterm assignment
There will be a mandatory midterm assignment (to be shown and discussed with one of the teachers), which must be approved before you can sit the final exam.
Information
Information, including announcements, will be given through the course webpage/semester page. We will not use Canvas.