By Anthony Duncan
Oxford University Press
Hardback: £77.50
Also available as an e-book
This book attempts to provide an introduction to quantum field theory by emphasizing conceptual issues. The aim is to build up the theory systematically from clearly stated foundations. The first section, “Origins”, consists of two historical chapters that situate quantum field theory in the larger context of modern physical theories. The three remaining sections follow a step-by-step reconstruction of this framework, beginning with a few basic assumptions: relativistic invariance, the basic principles of quantum mechanics, and the prohibition of physical action at a distance embodied in the clustering principle. Problems are included at the ends of the chapters and solutions can be requested via the publisher’s website.
