Advanced quantum theory and its applications through Feynman diagrams
The two themes of scattering diagrams and the fundamental forces characterize this book. Transformation theory is developed to review the concepts of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and to formulate the relativistic Klein-Gordon, Maxwell, and Dirac wave equations for relativistic spin-0, massless spin-1, and spin-1/2 particles, respectively. The language of group theory is used to write relativistic Lorentz transformations in a form similar to ordinary rotations and to describe the important discrete symmetries of C, P, and T. Then quantum mechanics is reformulated in the language of scattering theory, with the momentum-space S matrix replacing the coordinate-space hamiltonian as the central dynamical operator. Nonrelativistic perturbation scattering diagrams are then developed, and simple applications given for nuclear, atomic, and solid-state scattering problems. Next, relativistic scattering diagrams built up from covariant Feynman propagators and vertices in a manner consistent with the CPT theorem are considered. The theory is systematically applied to the lowest-order fundamental electromagnetic, strong, weak, and gravitational interactions. Finally, the use of higher-order Feynman diagrams to explain more detailed aspects of quantum electrodynamics (QED) and strong-interaction elementary-particle physics is surveyed. Throughout, the notion of currents is used to exploit the underlying symmetries and dynamical interactions of the various quantum forces. 258 references, 77 figures, 1 table. (RWR)
- OSTI ID:
- 6575267
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
645500 -- High Energy Physics-- Scattering Theory-- (-1987)
657002* -- Theoretical & Mathematical Physics-- Classical & Quantum Mechanics
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
C INVARIANCE
DIAGRAMS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DIRAC EQUATION
ELECTRODYNAMICS
EQUATIONS
FEYNMAN DIAGRAM
FIELD THEORIES
INTERACTIONS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
KLEIN-GORDON EQUATION
LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS
MATRICES
MAXWELL EQUATIONS
MECHANICS
P INVARIANCE
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PERTURBATION THEORY
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
QUANTUM MECHANICS
S MATRIX
SCATTERING
T INVARIANCE
TRANSFORMATIONS
WAVE EQUATIONS