Waves, Particles and Fields: Introducing Quantum Field Theory

This book fills a gap in the middle ground between quantum mechanics of a single electron to the concept of a quantum field. In doing so, the book is divided into two parts; the first provides the necessary background to quantum theory extending from Planck's formulation of black body radiation to Schrodinger's equation; and the second part explores Dirac's relativistic electron to quantum fields, finishing with an description of Feynman diagrams and their meaning. Much more than a popular account, yet not too heavy so as to be inaccessible, this book assumes no prior knowledge of quantum physics or field theory and provides the necessary foundations for readers to then progress to more advanced texts on quantum field theory. It will be of interest to undergraduate students in physics and mathematics, in addition to an interested, general audience. Features: Provides an extensive yet accessible background to the concepts Contains numerous, illustrative diagrams Presents in-depth explanations of difficult subjects

Author Biography: Anthony Fischer-Cripps is an experienced lecturer in physics and a former senior scientist at CSIRO, Australian's national scientific research institution. Dr. Cripps has published several student books over the years as well as undertaking fundamental research in applied physics in the field of nanoindentation.

Chapter 1. Mathematics Chapter 2. Waves Chapter 3. Electromagnetic Waves Chapter 4. Kinetic Theory of Gases Chapter 5. Quantum Theory Chapter 6. The Bohr Atom Chapter 7. The New Quantum Theory Chapter 8. Relativity Chapter 9. Advanced Mathematics Chapter 10. Relativistic Quantum Mechanics Chapter 11. Probability Flow Chapter 12. Wave Functions and Spinors Chapter 13. Classical Field Theory Chapter 14. Lorentz Invariance Chapter 15. The Electromagnetic Field Chapter 16. The Quantum Field Chapter 17. Feynman Diagrams Chapter 18. Conclusion