No-Nonsense Quantum Field Theory: A Student-Friendly Introduction [Print Replica] Kindle Edition

This reviewer is not a physicist by training but has a keen interest in physics and is a retired EE with working background in semiconductor physics and EM . This book is not a typical standard text on QFT but an extremely readable introduction to the subject. It is not a "popular" text for the general reader .This text will take you to an advance undergrad level understanding of the subject in the most "friendly" manner possible. There is no way around understanding QFT without wading into serious heavy physics and mathematics. The author has done a remarkable effort on laying out the physics in every chapter very clearly and the detail derivation are NOT glossed over. A lot of confusion for novices like myself on QFT is around the detail calculations and derivation .The book does a remarkable effort to put as much detail as humanly possible into each derivation and the reader is not left to fill in lots of gaps and left wondering how the equations move from one state to another( quantum pun intended)!!. Each chapter starts with the motivation and the underlying physics before hitting the hard part. The chapters ends with a recap and summary. Essential equations are repeated on the side bar so the reader does not have to constantly look for the neccessary background equations. The pedagogical approach is very refreshing and as good as it gets. The comparable book is "QFT - for gifted amateur" - by Lancaster/Blundell. Lancaster and Bundell covers several more advanced topics but this book goes into the fundamentals in much more detail. Both are great wonderful introductry books on QFT . I must admit that this is the first QFT text I managed to read cover to cover without getting unduly stuck ! maybe it just me being not smart enough to go thru books from Zee or Peskin etc , but I must give this author great credit for writing in such a way as to anticipate where the rough terrain are for beginners like me and smoothing it over as best as any book can. One point I do need to bring up is that this book is unlike most text is that there are no problems at the end of each chapter so there is no way to check your understanding by working thru some of these problems. All and all if you need to begin to explore QFT , this book is the best starting point I have come across in my humble opinion.

Before I came to this book, I have come across some other textbooks, but most of them are not easy to read. Klauber’s “Student Friendly QFT” is an exception. This book is in spirit similar to Klauber’s, but only more elementary. This is truly the ideal first book for any serious student. Even you don’t know about special relativity, Lagrangian mechanics and quantum mechanics beforehand, you can master this book, because the author has included enough material of these subjects for you to pave the way to QFT. I can say that those with high-school science background can comprehend, without hard effort, almost all material just upon first reading. This is largely due to the clear, consistent, logical and systematic presentation and the detailed mathematical derivation of equations. I have had some exposure to QFT, yet still found this book illuminating. The explanation and application of Wick’s Theorem are among the best (even better than Klauber’s in my opinion).The above are pros, there are cons of course. There are a few grammatical errors, which is no big deal; and there are a few errors appearing in mathematical argumentation, which is a big deal since the “soul” of this kind of book lies in equations. Some mathematical steps may be too obvious for even high-school students that can be skipped. The cartoon-esque diagrams are fine to me, but the words in those diagrams are impossible to read.Aesthetically, I give this book five stars. I appreciate the neat stylistic layout which makes reading a joy (In comparison, Klauber’s layout is worse; texts are too dense). For textbooks like this, I value so much the ease of reading the mathematical symbols, This book chose the right font and right size of symbols, such that reading them is not a laborious thing. For the book cover, I know it’s all about a matter of taste, but I’d prefer a simple design than no design. Zee’s “QFT in a Nutshell”, for example, has an attractive cover.

There seems to be no shortage of books these days trying to help students get comfortable with quantum field theory. But no text is perfect, and every student resonates with each approaches differently, so you will likely need more then one text. If you are still struggling, then certainly this is a worthy addition to any students collection. Some highlights:* Classical field theory is examined in some detail before getting into quantum mechanics at all. This provides an important foundation in the classical theory.* Canonical perturbation theory is developed in a clear way, with each step demonstrated. The kind of detailed step by step calculation that is usually reserved for the classroom is show here, which is vital for self study.* In the process, the requirement for renormalization is shown to arise quite naturally and the explanation is one of the clearest I have seen.* Some minor nits: There quite a few typos, mostly of the form of noun-verb agreement. The discussion justifying normal ordering felt a bit muddled to me. Finally I think the treatment would be improved by adding a discussion (perhaps in the final section, as part of a discussion of bound states or something) of the LSZ reduction method.

Libro ideale per chiunque, studente o curioso appassionato, voglia affrontare l'argomento più difficile della fisica di oggi. Naturalmente richiede una buona preparazione matematica, più o meno a livello di primo biennio universitario, perchè non è e non vuole essere un libro divulgativo.Sono felice per l'acquisto e penso che acquisterò anche altri libri dell'autore.

There are dozens and dozens of books about quantum field theory, I know because in my quest to finally pass my exams i wandered through a lot of them.In finding this book I have found a pedagogical clarity absolutely unmatched by any other book. It may not be as detailed and thorough as Weinberg, it may not be universally used like Peskin but i'll tell you this: QFT is a really difficult subject, and never have i ever found a book that was able to make it so easy to learn and understand.The Math is explained in every thorough detail, the language and pedagogical approach is never confusing or obscure; it's one of the few Physics books where, when you sit down and read 10 pages, then you get to stand up afterward having understood 10 pages of physics, not a word less.It may not be a complete book for most QFT university level courses, but reading this book will undoubtedly enable you to use it as a big and sturdy stepping stone to understand the material of any other course that may be a bit more complex or deep into the subject.I give it 5 stars with no hesitation, I would look for a sixth star if the book came with some exercises, but i understand that, given the detail in which the author explains all of the mathematical steps, typing the solution would have been a monumental job.Really good job Jakob amazing book.

Séduit par les ouvrages precedents de cet auteur, en particulier sur la Quantique, j'ai été déçu par celui-ci.Certes on s'attend à beaucoup d'équations mais la dose est ici assez énorme et SURTOUT on ne voit pas très bien ce que cela apporte, où l'auteur veut-il aller?Il ne motive vraiment pas assez le lecteur.Je compare ce livre à "Quantum field theory for the gifted amateur" .Pas vraiment évident à lire non plus bien entendu, mais au moins les auteurs éclairent le chemin de leur mieux.

I'm a mathematician who has tried to get into this topic through several books and until I found this one I could not fully get the basics.

I had got bogged down in Klauber's excellent book when I discovered this one, which I managed to read from cover to cover in a few weeks. This is a great book for a beginner at QFT. Schwichtenberg avoids unnecessarily complex topics and yet explains clearly the concepts involved -- and they often take some explaining. I have also tried the book by Blundell and Lancaster, but find that their treatment is somehow less complete.Highly recommended!