Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell: Second Edition
Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell: Second Edition
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Product Description
Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available.
This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading.
- The most accessible and comprehensive introductory textbook available
- Features a fully revised, updated, and expanded text
- Covers the latest exciting advances in the field
- Includes new exercises
- Offers a one-of-a-kind resource for students and researchers
Leading universities that have adopted this book include:
- Arizona State University
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Brown University
- California Institute of Technology
- Carnegie Mellon
- College of William & Mary
- Cornell
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Ohio State University
- Princeton University
- Purdue University - Main Campus
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rutgers University - New Brunswick
- Stanford University
- University of California - Berkeley
- University of Chicago
- University of Michigan
- University of Montreal
- University of Notre Dame
- Vanderbilt University
- Virginia Tech University
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Rating
The title may not be to the point since the book in fact is fairly long. Quantum field theory (QFT) is however a quite mature subject nowadays so there is a lot of material. In this book you get a pedagogical, informal, and sometimes even entertaining account of modern QFT. The style is explanatory and playful rather than terse and concise. The areas treated all seem important. Of course you need the right background to be able to digest this book, but if you do, you will like it.
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The first sentence of the text sets the tone: “Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life.” (The entire first chapter is available at http://pup.princeton.edu/chapters/s7573.pdf) This is *not* your father’s quantum field theory text. I particularly appreciate that things are motivated physically before their mathematical articulation. Further, the author is willing to fill in steps (in chapter appendices), rather than take the “it will be recalled” or “it can be shown” approach across intermediate steps. Most especially though, the author’s “heuristic” descriptions are the best I have read anywhere. From them alone the essential ideas become crystal clear. If you are comfortable with non-relativistic quantum mechanics and special relativity, but not so with their union, I think you will find this book very helpful.
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This is by far the most readable quantum field theory text I have come across. Believe it or not, many of the concepts like path integrals come across in this book crystal clear. Great discussion of many topics like the Dirac equation. If you have had trouble with field theory books, take a stab at this one. I guarantee you will find it much more readable than any other QFT text, yet it still contains everything you need to know. After you study this one then you can tackle a more substantial book like Weinberg, and do so more confidently.
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I could not imagine that one can
explain so much field theory concept in 500 pages.
I taught QFT during the fall of
2002, I regret that I did not have Professor Zee’s book.
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I am really pleased that Zee undertook to write this book. QFT can be a hefty topic. All too often, writers of many texts know their topic well but do an inadequate job of conveying to the reader where they are leading them as well as identifying the important insights that can be gleaned. In this manner, Zee’s book stands out from the crowd. He likes to explain how to reason through a problem or idea. As I started reading the text, I found many things started making a lot more sense to me.
From my perspective, Zee’s book serves a dual role:
1) Its a great book for picking up lots of useful concepts and techniques.
2) Now that I have some orientation and sense of direction, I can go back to some of other texts on QFT and Superstring Theory and begin prying open some of the less accessible topics.
The technical community is in need of more books like this. I hope Zee will go on to publish additional textbooks on related topics (for both an introductory level, and separately on a more advanced level).
You should be aware that this book has three prerequisites: reasonable knowledge of Quantum Mechanics, Relativity Theory and a certain level of mathematical maturity. Without these prerequisites, you won’t get very far in this book and will need to supplement it; whether having some other texts handy, or enlisting the help of a fellow colleague or professor to fill in the gaps.
All in all, QFT in a Nutshell is a wonderful find. For the money and time spent putting my nose to the grindstone to learn something new and useful, this book has truly turned out to be one of my better purchases.
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I just got a copy of the book this week and am absolutely giddy with excitement. I took QFT back in 1980 using Itzykson and Zuber. I never really did understand it well, though I got high marks for learning how to calculate stuff. I think I understand more after the first 30 pages of this book than I did after that entire semester.
I’ve been looking for a book like this for the last ten years. Finally, there is an author who can communicate concepts as well as Feynman.
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The reviewer who found the book “not rigorous” is correct in the sense that Zee’s emphasis is not on long technical proofs, but rather on clarity, brevity and physical insight.
There are many texts on quantum field theory (such as the classic, Itzykson and Zuber, or the more recent volumes by Weinberg or Peskin) that are more technical – just as there are books that cover the material in the Feynman lectures from a more mathematical perspective.
However, I find when teaching quantum field theory that most students have trouble developing an intuitive or physical grasp of the subject. That is what this book (uniquely) addresses. It is full of small gems of pedagogy and insight.
It is unrealistic to think that a serious student would only own a single text on quantum field theory. The cost of a book is negligible relative to the hours (years?) of effort necessary to master the subject! In my opinion Zee’s book deserves its place among the classics.
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This Quantum Field Theory text stands apart from others in so many ways that it’s difficult to list them all
. A very unique QFT introductory text.
One problem with learning QFT is that it is so easy to get lost in the mathematical details that the core physics concepts often get obscured.
In my opinion, Tony Zee overcomes this particular problem quite successfully. He keeps algebra to a bare minimum, and tries to find the shortest route to the physics ideas. He chooses examples that illustrate concepts in the fastest possible way.
The chapters are short. So refreshing! Each chapter has one or two core ideas. You can go through one in ten minutes (glossing over the math), and then you go back and do the math.
Part I (first eighty or so pages) is called “Motivation and Foundation” and is a rapid introduction to QFT. It is also a summary and sweeping overview — introducing path integrals and Feynman diagrams and making a very intuitive transition from Quantum mechanics to Field theory.
The next three parts cover spin-1/2 particles (Dirac spinors), renormalization, and symmetry (breaking), standard fare for QFT texts. A sampling of condensed-matter applications is given in Parts V & VI, and then current high-energy topics are treated in parts VII & VIII.
The applications make this text stand out. There is a selection of advanced current topics like the quantum hall physics, surface growth, string theory, D-branes and quantum gravity, not usually found in introductory field theory texts. Of course none of these topics can be done justice in a book at this level, but getting a taste of advanced issues is a great treat.
The exposition is breezy and chatty, as the author admits was his intention. The text is never boring to read, and is at times very, very funny. Puns and jokes abound, as do anecdotes involving the inventors of QFT.
Renormalization is discussed through a lively dialog between student Confusio, a female Smart Experimentalist (SE), and a senior (Egghead) theorist. Ode to Galileo! Section headings alternate between serious and hilarious — one section is called “Wisdom of the son-in-law”. The path integral formulation of quantum mechanics comes out of a conversation between a teacher and a “wise-guy” student, who happens to be Feynman.
And so on and so forth.
The net result is a book which is much easier, and more fun, to read than any of the other common QFT books out there. Tony Zee’s skills as a popular physics writer have been used to excellent effect in writing this textbook.
One more distinctive feature is that there is equal emphasis on condensed-matter and high-energy applications. Most QFT texts today, unfortunately, are so biased toward particle-physics that they tend to put off condensed-matter students. A. Zee has broken the mold!
Is the treatment “over”-simplified? Maybe simplified, but not dumbed-down. The high concept-to-pain ratio certainly seems worth the simplification.
Is this text only good as a supplement? Well, it is after all a “Nutshell”, so maybe other texts are better for details. But as an introduction to QFT concepts, few other books match this.
Wholeheartedly recommended.
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I have often heard graduate students say that QFT is a course that one must really take twice to understand properly–once to pick up the math, and then once again to pick up the physics. Zee’s QFT in a Nutshell may change this conventional wisdom.
I took a QFT course taught out of Peskin and Schroder as an undergraduate immediately after an undergrad-level Quantum Mechanics course taught out of Griffiths. Zee’s book helped bridge the gap between the two courses and proved to be a golden resource for insight beyond the standard texts. While Peskin and Schroder (and many of the other modern standards–Ryder, Weinberg, Kaku to some extent) are very meticulous mathematically, “QFT in a Nutshell” introduces the mathematical tools and is then meticulous about a strong physical understanding of the topic. Zee won’t let you lose sight of the big picture and his expertise in teaching the subject really shows up in his ability to highlight commonly misunderstood topics and to elucidate them with beautiful, intuitive, and physical explanations.
This is not to say, however, that Zee leaves out any of the requisite mathematics. Wick contractions and rotations, gaussian integrals, the Clifford algebra of Dirac spinors… it’s all there (and often explained in unique ways that clearly delimit the physics from the math)–Zee just leaves more of the details for the reader to work out (it’s only then that one realizes how one uses the calculations in more traditional texts as a crutch of sorts). In this respect, Zee’s book is also somewhat unique in providing hints and solutions to selected key exercises in the back of the book–giving readers a framework to work out calculations on their own (with all the necessary tools introduced), and then check their work. Often this leads to a much better understanding of the mathematics than following a long proof in a conventional text where it’s not always clear when new tricks are being used here and there to reach a solution.
At an introductory level, this type of book–with it’s pedagogical (and often very funny) narrative–is priceless. Whether you use it as a way to “get your feet wet” before taking a graduate level QFT course, or as a supplement to a more “calculational” text such as Peskin, as a text in its own right, or even as a reference, the book is full of fantastic insights akin to reading the Feynman lectures. I have since used “QFT in a Nutshell” as a review for the year-long course covering all of Peskin and Schroder, and have been pleasantly surprised at how Zee is able to pre-emptively answer many of the open questions that eluded me during my course.
Zee’s very short chapters and anecdotes make it an excellent book to read cover-to-cover. One can absorb a few sections of the book at a time as bedtime reading and be amazed at how much understanding is packed into the short expositions.
For example, in chapter I.2 (unfortunately not available through the Amazon preview at the time of this review–perhaps Google print?) Zee explains the path integral formulation using a “very Zen-like” thought experiment based on the double slit experiment. In typical fashion, Zee presents the explanation in the frame of an annoying student (“Feynman”) in a quantum mechanics class who asks the professor what happens when one adds more holds to the screen of the double slit experiment… and then more screens–until you have infinite screens each with infinite holes. Later on he introduces a character, Confusio, who asks all the ‘naive’ (but deep!) questions that a good QFT student should be thinking about. In this way, Zee is able to teach the subject while encouraging his readers to actively interpret and understand theories rather than formulae. Along the way, Zee’s anecdotes also impart a pleasantly surprising amount of “culture” –humorous stories about the early days of Feynman digrams, quotes from old texts (one priceless quote from Bjorken and Drell expressing the “dangers” of the renormalization group was particularly funny), and a dash of historical motivation.
The latter part of Zee’s text serves as an introduction to many aspects of current research. While Zee’s first four chapters present the core of a particle-oriented QFT course, the following chapters contain brief and readable introductions to more specific topics. I found this especially valuable as a way to bridge my understanding from my first QFT course to being able to pick up review articles on supersymmetry. Later on, I’ve found Zee an excellent resource to answer typical ‘beginning grad student questions’ such as: What is a soliton/instanton, how does grand unification work, what do I know about gravitons? Sure, there are only a few pages dedicated to each of these topics, but those pages provide the heuristic insight that is an invaluable guide/motivator through more technical review literature. If you want to learn the nitty gritty about solitons and instantons, then go read a book on solitons and instantons. If you want to know what the heck a soliton/instanton is and why the heck you should spend hours reading about them, and, on top of that, you’re a grad student so you don’t have any time to read more than a few pages right now, then Zee’s a great place to get the main idea and (more importantly) place it in context.
It may sound sacrosanct, but I value “QFT in a Nutshell” the same way I do the Feynman lectures. In response to some of the other comments that Zee’s book doesn’t treat calculations very thoroughly, this is true–but this is *not* a negative. Zee’s book isn’t a recipie book for Feynman diagram calculations, it’s a text to teach an understanding of physics. In the same way, one could complain that the Feynman lectures were weakened by the fact that they didn’t explain very nut and bolt about how to calculate problems in freshman physics.
So, a nutshell: You’ll want to get a copy of Zee because it’s excellent (if not indispensable) when you’re beginning to learn QFT. You’ll want to keep Zee because his later chapters will continue to shed light on the path beyond the standard QFT course. (And you’ll want to keep fishing for more jokes and anecdotes.)
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I have used “Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell” twice now, as the primary text for a semester-long course in quantum field theory for our second year graduate students in physics. I am immensely pleased with the book, and recommend it highly for anyone who wants to reach an audience of students who would pursue thesis topics spread across the spectrum of modern physics research.
Firstly, Zee starts of with the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, and shows that quantum field theory follows seamlessly, in fact naturally. Taking his advice early on, regarding exercising the straightforward math surrounding gaussian integrals and (what become) Wick contractions, students gain a great deal of confidence that they can understand the ambitious goals of modern field theory.
Secondly, the book gets into “real physics” quite early on. Watch how scalar particle exchange binds two sources, and appreciate Yukawa’s Nobel Prize research. See that vector exchange repels two sources, and that tensors will once again attract. Get an appreciation for extra dimensions, as Zee keeps the spatial dimension arbitrary so that he can make key points. All this in the first part of the book, before needing to introduce the Dirac field.
The book need not be followed in order by chapter. After having taught out of it once, I was more bold the second time and skipped a few things and reversed the order of a few topics. I came to appreciate the flexibility of Zee’s approach, and would argue that instructors better than me can make much further use of it. There are many advanced topics interspersed into the flow, such as an appreciation for Dirac spinors based on the Lorentz group, which can be incorporated into a very high power course, or skipped by more timid instructors like myself.
Furthermore, Zee provides very many “jumping off” points for further investigation of key physics topics. In my class, I followed the book to cover the Goldberger Treiman relation in particle physics, superfluidity, and critical phenomena through the Landau-Ginzburg mechanism. And, I was only able to touch on a few of the many possible topics he offers for discussion.
The book has a number of useful anecdotes which the students found at least amusing, but frequently useful for their own appreciation. It is fun to read.
I recommend the book highly. Don’t let the “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead” approach scare you off. Once you get used to seeing the physics quickly, I think you will find the experience very satisfying intellectually.