PHY 5669: Quantum Field Theory B

Lectures: 11:00-12:15, Tuesday and Thursday, in MCH 220.

Professor : Laura Reina, 510 Keen Building, 644-9282, e-mail: click here

Text :

Other suggested reference books: For a very broad and intriguing introduction to quantum field theory:

Topics:

In PHY 5667 (QFT A) we studied the quantization of spin-zero fields, including renormalization and the renormalization group equations. We then introduced the quantization of spin-one fields and discussed scalar electrodynamics, including quantum corrections. In PHY 5669 (QFT B) we will start by studying the quantization of spin 1/2 fields, which will allow us to discuss in detail spinor quantum electrodynamics (QED). We will then introduce non-abelian gauge theories and specialize our discussion to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Finally, we will study spontaneously broken gauge theories and discuss the Standard Model of particle physics. Here is a summary of the topics that have been covered in class so far or that will be covered in the next coming lectures:

Date Topics covered Reference
01/08 Syllabus. Introduction to spinor representations of the Lorentz group. [Text] (Sec. 33), [SW](Ch. 5)
01/13 Weyl spinors and their properties. [Text](Secs. 34-35), [SW] (Ch. 5)
01/15 Lagrangians for spinor fields: Weyl and Majorana fields. Dirac equation. [Text](Sec. 36), [SW](Ch. 5)
01/20 Lagrangian for Dirac fields: conserved Noether current. C-conjugation. [Text](Sec. 36), [SW](Ch. 5)
01/22 No class.
01/27 Solutions of the Dirac equation: explicit spinor structure. [Text](Sec. 38), [PS] (Ch. 3)
01/29 Solutions of the Dirac equation: spinor properties. Spin sums, spin projection matrices. [Text](Sec. 38), [PS] (Ch. 3)
01/30 Make-up class. Canonical quantization of spinor fields. [Text](Secs. 37, 39), [PS] (Ch. 3)
02/03 Path integral quantization for fermion fields. [Text](Sec. 43-44)
02/05 Feynman rules for Dirac fields, part II. Scattering amplitudes in Yukawa theory. [Text](Sec. 45)
02/10 Spin averaged cross sections. [Text](Secs. 46-48)
02/12 Spinor electrodynamics: construction from symmetry principles. Feynman rules. [Text](Sec. 58)
02/17 Tree level spinor electrodynamics. [Text](Secs. 57, 59)
02/19 Spinor electrodynamics: general structure of QED loop corrections and QED systematic renormalization. [Text](Sec. 62)
02/24 Spinor electrodynamics: photon and electron propagator one-loop corrections. [Text](Sec. 62)
02/26 Spinor electrodynamics: electron-photon vertex one-loop corrections. [Text](Secs. 63-64)
03/03 Spinor electrodynamics: IR divergences in loop corrections at O(alpha). [Text](Sec. 62-63) and Your Notes
03/05 Spinor electrodynamics: IR divergences from real photon emission, cancellation of IR divergences for inclusive cross sections. Your notes
03/17 Ward identities in QED. [Text](Secs. 66-68)
03/19 Non-abelian gauge theories: introduction. [Text](Sec. 69)
03/24 Non-abelian gauge theories: path integral quantization. [Text](Sec. 71)
03/26 Non-abelian gauge theories: Feynman rules. [Text](Sec. 72)
03/31 Non-abelian gauge theories: renormalization and explicit 1-loop structure. Part I. [Text](Sec. 73)
04/02 Non-abelian gauge theories: renormalization and explicit 1-loop structure. Part II. [Text](Sec. 73)
04/07 No class.
04/09 Non-abelian gauge theories: beta function, confinement/asymptotic freedom. [Text](Sec. 73)
04/14 BRST symmetry. [Text](Sec. 74)
04/16 Spontaneous symmetry breaking of global symmetries. [Text](Sec. 30 and 32)
04/17 Make-up class: 10:30 a.m. in Keen 503 Spontaneous symmetry breaking of gauge symmetries: abelian and non-abelian cases. [Text](Secs. 84-86)
04/21 Spontaneous symmetry breaking of gauge symmetries: gauge fixing, ghosts, longitudinal vector bosons. [Text](Secs. 84-86)
04/23 The Standard Model: using all the building blocks we have separately learned. [Text](Secs. 87-89)

Office Hours: Wednesday, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

You are also welcome to contact me whenever you have questions, either by e-mail or in person.

Homework:

A few homeworks will be assigned during the semester, tentatively every other week. The assignments and their solutions will be posted on this homepage.

Exams and Grades.

The grade will be based 70% on the homework and 30% on the Final Exam, and will be roughly determined according to the following criterium:

100-85% : A or A-
84-70% : B- to B+
below 70% : C

Attendance, participation, and personal interest will also be important factors in determining your final grade, and will be used to the discretion of the instructor.

The Final Exam is a take-home exam and will be distributed in class two weeks before Final Exam week, to be returned on a date that will be specified at that time. The Final Exam is now available. It is a take-home exam, and will have to be turned in by Friday, May 1st, 2015 at the latest. In the following you will find links to references that can help you figuring out the SM Feynman rules and some of the calculations of your Final exam. The references contain much more than you actually need (they all discuss loop calculations in the Standard Model), but they have nice introductory sections on the Standard Model Lagrangian, they discuss the choice of gauge, and they give a complete set of Feynman rules for a given gauge choice. Use them as references! You do not have to follow them exactly, but they can help you understanding and answering many questions.

Attendance. Regular, responsive and active attendance is highly recommended. A student absent from class bears the full responsibility for all subject matter and information discussed in class.

University Attendance Policy. Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.

Absence. Please inform me in advance of any excused absence on the day an assignment is due. In case of unexpected absences, due to illness or other serious problems, we will discuss the modality with which you will turn in any missed assignment on a case by case basis.

Assistance. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); 2) bring a letter to me from SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations and what they are. This should be done within the first week of class. This and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

Academic Honor Policy The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of students' academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to ``be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.'' (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at \url{http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm}.)

The policy is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility 1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, 2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and 3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.
Laura Reina
Last modified: Tue Dec 4 13:54:45 EST 2007