An Introduction to Gauge Theories

Description

Written by world-leading experts in particle physics, this new book from Luciano Maiani and Omar Benhar, with contributions from the late Nicola Cabibbo, is based on Feynman’s path integrals. Key elements of gauge theories are described―Feynman diagrams, gauge-fixing, Faddeev-Popov ghosts―as well as renormalization in Quantum Electrodynamics. Quarks and QCD interactions are introduced. Renormalization group and high momentum behaviour of the coupling constants is discussed in QED and QCD, with asymptotic freedom derived at one-loop. These concepts are related to the Higgs boson and models of grand unification. "… an excellent introduction to the quantum theory of gauge fields and their applications to particle physics. … It will be an excellent book for the serious student and a good reference for the professional practitioner. Let me add that, scattered through the pages, we can find occasional traces of Nicola Cabibbo's style." ―John Iliopoulos, CNRS-Ecole Normale Supérieure " 
… The volume ends with an illuminating description of the expectation generated by the recent discovery of the Higgs boson, combined with the lack of evidence for super-symmetric particles in the mass range 0.6-1 TeV." ―Arturo Menchaca-Rocha, FinstP, Professor of Physics, Mexico’s National Autonomous University, Former President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, Presidential Advisor "…The reader is masterfully guided through the subtleties of the quantum field theory and elementary particle physics from simple examples in Quantum Mechanics to salient details of modern theory." ―Mikhail Voloshin, Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota Content: The Feynman path integral -- Towards a field theory -- Equations of motion, symmetries and Ward's identity -- The electromagnetic field -- Fermion fields -- Scattering processes and the Smatrix -- Perturbative Green's functions in 4 -- Smatrix Feynman diagrams in 4 -- Quantum electrodynamics -- Renormalisation of QED -- Applications of QED -- Renormalisation group of QED -- Quantising a nonabelian theory -- The function in QCD -- Unitarity and ghosts -- Effective constants at high energy and ideas about grand unification -- Limits on the mass of the Higgs boson -- The weak muon anomaly -- Effective potential and naturalness.