QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
Stampa
Enrollment year
2020/2021
Academic year
2020/2021
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
FIS/02 (THEORETICAL PHYSICS, MATHEMATICAL MODELS AND METHODS)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
Course
Curriculum
Fisica nucleare e subnucleare
Year of study
Period
2nd semester (01/03/2021 - 11/06/2021)
ECTS
6
Lesson hours
48 lesson hours
Language
Italian
Activity type
ORAL TEST
Teacher
PICCININI FULVIO (titolare) - 6 ECTS
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of non-relativistic quantum mechanics and special relativity.
Attendance of the course Quantum Electrodymanics is suggested.
Learning outcomes
Learning of basic concepts and functional methods in quantum field theory, with particular reference to QED as a prototype of gauge theories. One of the aims of the course is also to provide the necessary theoretical tools for the understanding of the subjects treated in the course Theory of Fundamental Interactions.
Course contents
- Path-integral quantization in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. - Functional approach in quantum field theory: quantization of scalar fields, vectorial fields (with reference to gauge fields) and of fermionic fields, for non interacting fields.
- General relation between Green functions and S-matrix elements: LSZ reduction formualae.
- Renormalization (general concepts, dimensional regularization and calculation of Green function at one loop in perturbation theory) for a self-interacting scalar field and for Quantum Electrodynamics.
- Infrared divergencies in Quantum Electrodynamics
- Renormalization group: general concepts developed for a self-interacting scalar field and for Quantum Electrodymanics.
Teaching methods
Lectures at the blacboard.
Reccomended or required readings
-Lecture notes provided by the teacher.
Within the reference material given in the lecture notes, the following textbooks are suggested:
- L.H. Ryder, Quantum Field Theory, Cambridge, 1996
- A. Zee, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press, 2010
- M. Bohm, A. Denner, H. Joos, Gauge Theories of the Strong and Electroweak Interaction, Springer, 2001
Assessment methods
Oral examination, aimed at testing the level of knowledge of the fundamental concepts. Some technical details, necessary for a (as far as possible)
self-contained development of the lectures, are not strictly required.
Further information
Attendance of the lectures is not compulsory but, nevertheless, suggested. Indeed, due to the complexity of the treated subjects, the direct interaction with the teacher can considerably simplify the learning process.
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