Gauge Theories in Particle Physics 40th Anniversary Edition

Book excerpt: The fifth edition of this well-established, highly regarded two-volume set continues to provide a fundamental introduction to advanced particle physics while incorporating substantial new experimental results, especially in the areas of the Higgs and top quark sectors, as well as CP violation and neutrino oscillations. It offers an accessible and practical introduction to the three gauge theories comprising the Standard Model of particle physics: quantum electrodynamics (QED), quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and the Glashow-Salam-Weinberg (GSW) electroweak theory. The first volume provides a broad and self-contained introduction to the first of these theories, QED. A unique feature is the elementary introduction to quantum field theory, leading in easy stages to covariant perturbation theory and Feynman graphs, thereby establishing a firm foundation for the formal and conceptual framework upon which the subsequent development of the three quantum gauge field theories of the Standard Model is based. The second volume covers the two non-Abelian gauge theories of QCD and the GSW theory. A distinctive feature is the extended treatment of two crucial theoretical tools: spontaneous symmetry breaking and the renormalization group. The underlying physics of these is elucidated by parallel discussions of examples from condensed matter systems: superfluidity and superconductivity, and critical phenomena. This new edition includes updates to jet algorithms, lattice field theory, CP violation and the CKM matrix, and neutrino physics. New to the fifth edition: Tests of the Standard Model in the Higgs and top quark sectors The naturalness problem and responses to it going beyond the Standard Model The Standard Model as an effective field theory This revised and updated anniversary edition provides a self-contained pedagogical treatment of the subject, from relativistic quantum mechanics to the frontiers of the Standard Model. For each theory, the authors discuss the main conceptual points in both mathematical and physical aspects, detail many practical calculations of physical quantities from first principles, and compare these quantitative predictions with experimental results, helping readers improve both their calculation skills and physical insight. This set should serve as a valuable handbook for students and researchers in advanced particle physics looking for an introduction to the Standard Model of particle physics.