Physics 722: Quantum Field Theory
Spring 2007

Instructor - Josh Erlich
Small Hall, Room 220
Office Phone: 757-221-3763
Email: erlich@physics.wm.edu

Topics to be covered, as time permits:

Radiative corrections in QED

• Electron self-energy
• Electron vertex function and g-2
• Bremsstrahlung and infrared divergences
• Lamb shift




Renormalization, The Renormalization Group and Critical Phenomena

• Landau-Ginzburg Hamiltonian
• Renormalization Group: Kadanoff vs. Wilson
• Universality and critical exponents




Formal Aspects of Quantum Field Theory

• LSZ reduction formula
• Unitarity and the Optical Theorem
• Bound states and resonances
• Composite operators




Non-Abelian Global Symmetries

• Lie groups and Lie algebras
• Isospin, chiral symmetry and hadron phenomenology
• Spontaneous symmetry breaking, Goldstone's Theorem
• Anomalous global symmetries




Gauge Theories


• Functional integral quantization
• Ward-Takahashi Indentities
• Non-Abelian gauge theories (Yang-Mills Theory)
• Gauge fixing and Fadeev-Popov ghosts
• Anomalies vs. Renormalizability
• Quantum Chromodynamics: Asymptotic freedom and confinement
• Electroweak symmetry breaking: The Higgs Mechanism
• Standard Model of Particle Physics

Course requirements and grade:

• Problem sets (60%)
• Take home final exam (40%)

Problem Sets

Problem Set 1 (ps1.ps, ps1.pdf), due Thursday, February 8.
Problem Set 2 (ps2.ps, ps2.pdf), due Tuesday, February 20.
Problem Set 3 (ps3.ps, ps3.pdf), due Tuesday, February 27.
Problem Set 4 (ps4.ps, ps4.pdf), due Tuesday, March 6.
Problem Set 5 (ps5.ps, ps5.pdf), due Tuesday, March 20.
Problem Set 6 (ps6.ps, ps6.pdf), due Tuesday, April 10.
Problem Set 7 (ps7.ps, ps7.pdf), due Thursday, April 19.
Problem Set 8 (ps8.ps, ps8.pdf), due Tuesday, May 1.

Final Exam

The exam is due Friday, May 11, 5pm, but extensions will be accepted as discussed in class. Questions asked during the exam will be posted here.

Final Exam (exam.ps, exam.pdf)