Comments on: Guide to QFT Textbooks http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/ Dedicated to the mathematical arts. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:24:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Ars Mathematica » Blog Archive » The Life Cycle of a Theoretical Physicist http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-33827 Ars Mathematica » Blog Archive » The Life Cycle of a Theoretical Physicist Mon, 07 May 2007 04:56:35 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-33827 [...] Commenter h recommended Borcherd’s lecture notes on QFT. I’ve only just begun reading them, but his Life Cycle of a Theoretical Physicist, which begins the introduction, is incredibly funny. [...] [...] Commenter h recommended Borcherd’s lecture notes on QFT. I’ve only just begun reading them, but his Life Cycle of a Theoretical Physicist, which begins the introduction, is incredibly funny. [...]

]]> By: h http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-33078 h Thu, 03 May 2007 14:58:51 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-33078 The problem with this guide is that it is written by a physics student and it is intended for other (younger) physics students. Mathematically minded people need very different books. As somebody who also has (or at least had) QFT on that to-do list, I can share my (admittedly shallow) insights. I liked Zee's 'QFT in a nutshell' - it's something one can even read in the bed before sleeping. Probably good for the 'big picture' thing. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the IAS book: 'Quantum Fields and Strings: A Course For Mathematicians', which is at least intended for mathematicians, although with a different meaning of the word 'mathematician'... But probably there are useful parts of that book, and most of it is on the web (http://www.math.ias.edu/QFT/). We tried to read the part written by Witten; that is good, but more dense than it appears to be. The guide linked quotes Zee saying that “The only person who can understand Weinberg is Weinberg". That is probably true - you won't learn QFT from Weinberg, you read Weinberg when you already know QFT. Physics-type people tend to like Peskin-Schroeder, but I didn't try that one. There are also very good lecture notes on the web, two I liked particularly are Pavel Etingof's 'Mathematical ideas and notions of QFT' (http://www-math.mit.edu/~etingof/lect.ps), and Richard Borchard's 'Lectures on QFT' (http://arxiv.org/abs/math-ph/0204014); both are inteded for mathematicians. The problem with this guide is that it is written by a physics student and it is intended for other (younger) physics students. Mathematically minded people need very different books. As somebody who also has (or at least had) QFT on that to-do list, I can share my (admittedly shallow) insights.
I liked Zee’s ‘QFT in a nutshell’ - it’s something one can even read in the bed before sleeping. Probably good for the ‘big picture’ thing. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the IAS book: ‘Quantum Fields and Strings: A Course For Mathematicians’, which is at least intended for mathematicians, although with a different meaning of the word ‘mathematician’… But probably there are useful parts of that book, and most of it is on the web (http://www.math.ias.edu/QFT/). We tried to read the part written by Witten; that is good, but more dense than it appears to be.
The guide linked quotes Zee saying that “The only person who can understand Weinberg is Weinberg”. That is probably true - you won’t learn QFT from Weinberg, you read Weinberg when you already know QFT. Physics-type people tend to like Peskin-Schroeder, but I didn’t try that one.
There are also very good lecture notes on the web, two I liked particularly are Pavel Etingof’s ‘Mathematical ideas and notions of QFT’ (http://www-math.mit.edu/~etingof/lect.ps), and Richard Borchard’s ‘Lectures on QFT’ (http://arxiv.org/abs/math-ph/0204014); both are inteded for mathematicians.

]]> By: sigfpe http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-29570 sigfpe Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:49:33 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-29570 If you need to study QM before QFT I really like Sudbery's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Mechanics-Particles-Nature-Mathematicians/dp/0521277655" rel="nofollow">Quantum Mechanics and the Particles of Nature: An Outline for Mathematicians</a>. Among the highlights are an account of spin that makes sense, a really elegant treatment of the hydrogen atom that gets the energy eigenstates without having to solve PDEs using Legendre polynomials and spherical harmonics, enough group theory to at least get started on understanding the particle zoo, and a survey of 'interpretations' of QM. If you need to study QM before QFT I really like Sudbery’s Quantum Mechanics and the Particles of Nature: An Outline for Mathematicians. Among the highlights are an account of spin that makes sense, a really elegant treatment of the hydrogen atom that gets the energy eigenstates without having to solve PDEs using Legendre polynomials and spherical harmonics, enough group theory to at least get started on understanding the particle zoo, and a survey of ‘interpretations’ of QM.

]]> By: René Meyer http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-29123 René Meyer Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:17:58 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-29123 There is a new QFT book by Prof. Eberhardt Zeidler from the Max-Planck Institute for Mathematics in Sciences: http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Field-Theory-Mathematics-Mathematicians/dp/3540347623/ref=sr_1_1/104-2378082-4543916?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177416903&sr=8-1 Its volume one of seven planned, and is intended a textbook that both pleases physicists and mathematicians. I browsed through the first volume, and found it quite ingenious. Lets hope that Prof. Zeidler, who is in retirement now, finishes the other volumes in a reasonable timeframe! There is a new QFT book by Prof. Eberhardt Zeidler from the Max-Planck Institute for Mathematics in Sciences:

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Field-Theory-Mathematics-Mathematicians/dp/3540347623/ref=sr_1_1/104-2378082-4543916?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177416903&sr=8-1

Its volume one of seven planned, and is intended a textbook that both pleases physicists and mathematicians. I browsed through the first volume, and found it quite ingenious. Lets hope that Prof. Zeidler, who is in retirement now, finishes the other volumes in a reasonable timeframe!

]]> By: egm http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27583 egm Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:55:43 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27583 Thanks for the link CZ! Thanks for the link CZ!

]]> By: ComplexZeta http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27574 ComplexZeta Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:24:18 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27574 There's an interesting list for mathematics books at http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~abhishek/chicmath.htm. There’s an interesting list for mathematics books at http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~abhishek/chicmath.htm.

]]> By: egm http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27526 egm Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:30:21 +0000 http://www.arsmathematica.net/archives/2007/04/20/guide-to-qft-textbooks/#comment-27526 Useful list. Do you know of any such guide anyone has written for mathematics? Useful list. Do you know of any such guide anyone has written for mathematics?

]]>