Contents › Part 11

Part 11 — Quantum Field Theory and the Standard Model

1. Canonical Quantization of Fields
   • Why fields
   • The free real scalar field
   • The complex scalar field and antiparticles
   • Noether charges and the Poincaré algebra
   • Fermions and gauge fields
   • Propagators
   • Causality and spin–statistics
   • Vacuum energy made observable: the Casimir effect
   • Limits of the canonical approach
2. Quantum Electrodynamics and Renormalization
   • The QED Lagrangian
   • Perturbation theory and its three formalisms
   • Tree-level QED
   • One loop: where the infinities are
   • Renormalization
   • Infrared structure
   • The running coupling
   • Precision tests
3. Weak Interactions
   • The beta-decay crisis
   • Fermi's theory
   • Parity violation
   • The $V-A$ interaction
   • Strangeness-changing currents
   • Neutral currents and the intermediate bosons
   • Why Fermi theory had to be replaced
4. Quantum Chromodynamics
   • Hadron spectroscopy and the quark hypothesis
   • Colour
   • The QCD Lagrangian
   • Asymptotic freedom
   • Deep inelastic scattering and the parton model
   • Jets and the gluon
   • Confinement
   • Chiral symmetry and its breaking
   • QCD under extreme conditions
   • The strong CP problem
5. Flavour Physics and Neutrinos
   • The discovery of new quantum numbers
   • Quark mixing
   • Three generations
   • The CKM matrix
   • Neutral meson mixing and $CP$ violation
   • Lepton flavour and neutrino mixing
   • Neutrino mass
   • Open questions in flavour
6. Electroweak Unification and the Higgs Boson
   • Conventions carried into this chapter
   • From Fermi's theory to a gauge theory
   • Spontaneous symmetry breaking
   • The Glashow–Weinberg–Salam model
   • Renormalizability
   • Experimental confirmation
   • The Higgs boson
   • What the model does not explain
7. Discrete Symmetries and CPT
   • The three discrete operations
   • Parity violation
   • CP violation
   • Direct tests of time reversal
   • The CPT theorem
   • The baryon asymmetry
   • The strong CP problem
8. Path-Integral Quantization
   • The path integral in quantum mechanics
   • Euclidean formulation
   • Functional quantization of fields
   • Gauge fields
   • The lattice
   • Topology of the gauge vacuum
   • Anomalies
9. Nuclear Forces and Nuclear Structure
   • Discovery of the nucleus
   • The nucleon–nucleon interaction
   • Nuclear masses and binding
   • Nuclear models
   • Radioactive decay
   • Fission and fusion
10. The Renormalization Group
    • Conventions carried into this chapter
    • Origins in field theory
    • Regularization
    • The Wilsonian picture
    • Running couplings in the Standard Model
    • Effective field theory
    • The renormalization group beyond perturbation theory
11. Axiomatic Quantum Field Theory
    • Why axioms
    • The Wightman axioms
    • Theorems from the axioms
    • Algebraic quantum field theory
    • The Euclidean route
    • The operator product expansion
    • Constructive results and what is missing
12. Experiment: Parity Violation experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • Interpretation
    • Immediate confirmation: the pion–muon–electron chain
    • Modern repetitions and precision
    • Primary references
13. Experiment: CP Violation experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • Interpretation
    • Direct CP violation in the kaon system
    • CP violation beyond the kaons
    • Cosmological relevance and open questions
    • Primary references
14. Experiment: The Electron Anomalous Magnetic Moment experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • The theoretical prediction
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • The muon anomaly
    • Interpretation
    • Primary references
15. Experiment: The Higgs Boson Discovery experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • Interpretation
    • What is not yet measured
    • Primary references
16. Experiment: Neutrino Oscillations experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • Interpretation
    • Modern repetitions and precision
    • Open questions
    • Primary references
17. Cosmic Rays and Astroparticle Physics
    • Discovery of the cosmic radiation
    • Cosmic rays as the first particle accelerator
    • The primary spectrum and composition
    • Extensive air showers
    • Acceleration and origin
    • The end of the spectrum
    • Neutral messengers
    • Cosmic rays as a physics laboratory
    • What is settled and what is not
18. Experiment: Deep Inelastic Scattering experiment
    • Historical context and the prediction under test
    • Apparatus
    • Procedure
    • Observations and data
    • Interpretation
    • Scaling violations and the confirmation of QCD
    • Extensions and modern precision
    • Primary references
19. Experiment: Artificial Transmutation and the Instruments of Nuclear Physics experiment
    • Conventions and constants
    • Rutherford: the first artificial transmutation (1919)
    • Cockcroft and Walton: lithium split by accelerated protons (1932)
    • Lawrence and Livingston: the cyclotron (1932)
    • Wilson: the expansion cloud chamber (1912)
    • Glaser: the bubble chamber (1952)
    • Charpak: the multiwire proportional chamber (1968)
    • Summary of the evidence