Date : 2018
Type : Livre / Book
Langue / Language : anglais / English
ISBN : 978-0-19-880287-7
ISBN : 978-0-19-287349-1
EAN : 978019-8802877
EAN : 9780192873491
Classification Dewey : 530.143
Collection : Oxford graduate texts / Oxford : Oxford university press , 2004-
Résumé / Abstract : This book introduces quantum field theory, together with its most important applications to cosmology and astroparticle physics, in a coherent framework. The book employs the path integral approach from the start, and it illustrates the use of Green functions and generating functionals, first in quantum mechanics and then in scalar field theory. Massless spin one and two fields are discussed on an equal footing, and gravity is presented as a gauge theory in close analogy with the Yang-Mills case. Concepts relevant to modern research such as helicity methods, effective theories, decoupling, and the stability of the electroweak vacuum are introduced. Various applications of quantum field theory to problems in cosmology and astroparticle physics, such as topological defects, dark matter, baryogenesis and black holes, help students to bridge the gap between undergraduate courses and the research literature.