Synopses & Reviews
The goal of this textbook is to understand the forces of nature in their simplest and most general terms. It begins in Part 1 with a detailed discussion of transformation theory, which is used by the author to formulate advanced quantum theory in group-theoretical language. Part 2 deals with scattering theory and includes many applications to nuclear, atomic, and solid-state physics. The central theme of the book, however, is presented in Part 3: relativistic Feynman diagrams. The student learns to use them in a most natural way and will find a thorough discussion of the lowest-order electromagnetic, strong, weak, and gravitational interactions. The last chapter deals with the finite parts of higher-order graphs in field theory and dispersion theory. In the second edition errors have been eliminated and the text has been enhanced with the inclusion of new sections on the quark model.
Synopsis
For the past five years, my editor at Springer-Verlag has asked me to write a second edition of this text that would incorporate new material on the quark model. Because this is a subject at the forefront of modern physics, whose central ideas are perpetually in flux, such an addition is not a simple task. Nevertheless, I have tried to discuss quark model topics that should stand the test of time and be of interest to introductory advanced quantum mechanics students as examples of the Feynman diagram technique. I have also tried to eliminate errors made in the first edition. I appreciate the work of R. Miller, who graciously typed the additional material. My colleagues V. Elias, T. Hakioglu, S. Kocic, N. Paver, and R. Thews helped me formulate the quark model chapter. Tucson, Arizona M. D. Scadron May 1990 vii Preface to the First Edition The fundamental goal of physics is an understanding of the forces of nature in their simplest and most general terms. Yet the scientific method inadver- tently steers us away from that course by requiring an ever finer subdivision of the problem into constituent components, so that the overall objective is often obscured, even to the experts. The situation is most frustrating and acute for today's graduate students, who must try to absorb as much general knowledge as is possible and also try to digest only a small fraction of the ever increasing morass of observational data or detailed theories to write a dissertation.
Synopsis
In this well-known textbook, advanced quantum theory is formulated in group-theoretical language. Scattering is dealt with in nuclear, atomic, and solid-state physics. Of central importance is the treatment of Feynman graphs. In the second edition the author has added new sections on the quark model.