Quantum field theory : from operators to path integrals /

Huang has written this graduate-level work to follow a standard course in quantum mechanics. Points of emphasis include the development of renormalization methods and the unification of quantum field theory with statistical mechanics through the path integral formalism. Applications tend toward condensed matter physics and quantum electrodynamics; particle physics is specifically excluded to avoid overlap with the author's Quarks, Leptons, and Gauge Fields (2nd ed., 1992). Each chapter concludes with a small number of problems (typically about half a dozen, generally without solutions) and a limited number of references to the primary literature (more in the later chapters) or to books in other fields of physics. Although generally densely filled with equations (as is appropriate), a few instances, particularly the opening of chapter 15 ("Broken Symmetry") and the end of chapter 16 ("Renormalization"), include an unexpectedly large dose of reflections on the significance of the theory as it has been developed and applied. Graduate students; faculty. D. B. Moss Boston University