David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Quantum Field Theory Contact Biography David Tong: Lectures on Research Quantum Field Theory Lecture Notes These lecture notes are based on an introductory course on Dynamics and quantum field theory, aimed at Part III (i.e. masters level) Relativity students. The full set of lecture notes can be downloaded here, together with videos of the course when it was Classical repeated at the Perimeter Institute. Individual sections can Dynamics be downloaded below. Last updated October 2012. Electromagnetism Statistical PostScript PDF Videos "The career of a young Physics theoretical physicist consists of treating the Kinetic Theory harmonic oscillator in ever-increasing levels of Quantum Field Content abstraction." Theory -- Sidney Coleman. String Theory 0. Preliminaries: Postscript PDF Solitons 1. Classical Field Theory: Postscript PDF Table of Contents; Introduction; Lagrangian Field Theory; Lorentz Invariance; Noether's Theorem and Conserved Currents; Hamiltonian Field Theory. 2. Canonical Quantization: Postscript PDF The Klein-Gordon Equation, The Simple Harmonic Oscillator; Free Quantum Fields; Vacuum Energy; Particles; Relativistic Normalization; Complex Scalar Fields; The Heisenberg Picture; Causality and Propagators; Applications; Non-Relativistic Field Theory 3. Interacting Fields: Postscript PDF Types of Interaction; The Interaction Picture; Dyson's Formula; Scattering; Wick's Theorem; Feynman Diagrams; Feynman Rules; Amplitudes; Decays and Cross Sections; Green's Functions; Connected Diagrams and Vacuum Bubbles; Reduction Formula 4. The Dirac Equation: Postscript PDF The Lorentz Group; Clifford Algebras; The Spinor Representation; The Dirac Lagrangian; Chiral Spinors; The Weyl Equation; Parity; Majorana Spinors; Symmetries and Currents; Plane Wave Solutions. 5. Quantizing the Dirac Field: Postscript PDF A Glimpse at the Spin-Statistics Theorem; Fermionic Quantization; Fermi-Dirac Statistics; Propagators; Particles and Anti-Particles; Dirac's Hole Interpretation; Feynman Rules 6. Quantum Electrodynamics: Postscript PDF http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/qft.html[2015/1/21 11:15:45] David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Quantum Field Theory Gauge Invariance; Quantization; Inclusion of Matter -- QED; Lorentz Invariant Propagators; Feynman Rules; QED Processes. Problem Sheets Problem Sheet 1: Postscript PDF Classical Field Theory Problem Sheet 2: Postscript PDF Quantizing the Scalar Field Problem Sheet 3: Postscript PDF The Dirac Equation Problem Sheet 4: Postscript PDF Scattering Amplitudes Quantum Field Theory on the Web Quantum Field Theory by Michael Luke. Fields by Warren Siegel. Quantum Condensed Matter Field Theory by Ben Simons Errata for the book by Peskin and Schroeder Philip Tanedo, who took this course long ago, has put together a useful literature review of quantum field theory textbooks. Some Classic Quantum Field Theory Courses The late Sidney Coleman taught the quantum field theory course at Harvard for many years, influencing a generation of physicists in the way they view and teach QFT. Below you can find the pdf files of handwritten lecture notes for Coleman's course (transcribed by Brian Hill). The notes come in two large files, each around 6.5 Mb. Part 1 Part 2 These notes were subsequently latexed and posted on the arXiv. The original videos of Coleman's course from the mid 1970's are also available here. Another, older legendary QFT course was given in 1951 by Freeman Dyson. The notes are still relevant, and can be found here. Lecture notes copyright © 2006 David Tong unless otherwise credited. Permission is granted to copy and distribute freely, so long as proper attribution is given, no alterations are made, and no monetary profit is gained. Image of the decay of a K+ meson in a bubble chamber, copyright CERN 1973. http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/qft.html[2015/1/21 11:15:45] David Tong -- Physicist -- A Short Bio Contact Biography Professor David Tong Research Hello. Welcome to my web pages. I'm a theoretical Lecture Notes physicist at the University of Cambridge. I am a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and a fellow of Trinity College. I work on quantum field theory, string theory, supersymmetry, solitons and cosmology. You can read more about my research and publications on my research pages. You can find lecture notes on various topics in theoretical physics on my teaching pages. Research Career 2011-present: University of Cambridge, Professor. 2009-present: Trinity College, Cambridge, Fellow. 2008-2012: TIFR, Mumbai Adjunct Professor. 2004-2011: University of Cambridge, Lecturer, then Reader. 2004: Stanford University and SLAC, Visiting Researcher. 2001-2004: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pappalardo fellow. 2000-2001: Columbia University, Postdoc. 1999-2000: Kings College, London, EPSRC postdoctoral fellow. 1998-1999: TIFR, Mumbai, India, Research fellow. Education 1997-1998: University of Washington, Seattle. Visiting student. 1995-1998: University of Wales, Swansea. PhD in Theoretical Physics. 1994-1995: Kings College, London. MSc in Mathematics. 1991-1994: University of Nottingham. BSc in Mathematical Physics. Prizes, Fellowships and Awards 2013: Pilkington Teaching Prize University of Cambridge 2011: ERC Starting Investigator Grant 2011: FQXI Essay Competition (Second Prize). 2008: Adams Prize 2004: Royal Society URF 1999: EPSRC Fellowship http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/bio.html[2015/1/21 11:17:00] David Tong -- Theoretical Physicist at the University of Cambridge Contact Biography Research Lecture Notes David Tong Professor of Theoretical Physics Fellow of Trinity College High Energy Particle Physics Group Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics University of Cambridge Email: [email protected] Office: +44 (0)1223 337874 DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA © David Tong, [email protected]. http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/index.html[2015/1/21 11:17:18] David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Theoretical Physics Contact Biography David Tong: Lectures on Theoretical Physics Research Lecture Notes Dynamics and Relativity Dynamics and Classical Dynamics Relativity Electromagnetism An introduction to Newtonian Mechanics and Statistical Special Relativity, aimed at Physics first year undergraduates. Kinetic Theory Quantum Field Theory String Theory Solitons Classical Dynamics A second course in classical mechanics, presenting the Lagrangian and Hamiltian approaches, together with a detailed discussion of rigid body motion. Electromagnetism An introduction to electromagnetism. After introducing the Maxwell equations, the course describes their application to electrostatics, magnetostatics, induction and light. It also describes the relativistic form of the equations. http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/teaching.html[2015/1/21 11:18:43] David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Theoretical Physics Statistical Physics An introduction to statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, presented to final year undergraduates. After developing the fundamentals of the subject, the course covers classical gases, quantum gases and phase transitions. Kinetic Theory A graduate course on basic topics in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. It covers kinetic theory and the Boltzmann equation, stochastic processs and linear response. Quantum Field Theory An introductory course in quantum field theory, presented to first year graduate students. It covers the canonical quantization of scalar, Dirac and vector fields. Videos are also included. String Theory An introduction to string theory, presented to first year graduate students. It covers the bosonic string and the basics of conformal field theory. http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/teaching.html[2015/1/21 11:18:43] David Tong -- Cambridge Lecture Notes on Theoretical Physics Solitons A course for advanced graduates students, covering solitons in supersymmetric gauge theories and D-branes. It was given at the TASI summer school. Some Powerpoint Slides Concepts in Theoretical Physics A handful of lectures aimed at first year undergraduates, each focussing on a different topic in theoretical physics. © David Tong, [email protected] http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/teaching.html[2015/1/21 11:18:43] David Tong -- A Brief Description of Research -- Theoretical Physics Contact Biography David Tong: Research Research ERC Grant Publications Quantum Field Talks Theory Lecture Notes Quantum field theory is the language in which all of modern physics is formulated. It represents the marriage of quantum mechanics with special relativity and provides the mathematical framework in which to describe the creation and destruction of hoards of particles as they pop in and out of their ethereal existence and interact. Whether you want to understand the collisions of protons in the next high- energy collider, how teams of electrons co-operate inside solids, or how black holes evaporate, you need to work with quantum field theory. Moreover, it has also proven to be a remarkably subtle and rich subject for mathematicians, providing insights into many new areas of mathematics. String Theory String theory is an ambitious project. It purports to be an all-encompassing theory of the universe, unifying the forces of nature, including gravity, in a single quantum mechanical framework. The theory involves many http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/research.html[2015/1/21 11:17:28] David Tong -- A Brief