Gauge Fields

Presents an examination of the work of Simon Donaldson. This book offers foundation work in gauge theory (Uhlenbeck, Taubes, Atiyah, Hitchin, Singer, et al.) which underlies Donaldson's work. It is suitable for geometric topologists and differential geometers.

Based on a highly regarded lecture course at Moscow State University, this is a clear and systematic introduction to gauge field theory. It is unique in providing the means to master gauge field theory prior to the advanced study of quantum mechanics. Though gauge field theory is typically included in courses on quantum field theory, many of its ideas and results can be understood at the classical or semi-classical level. Accordingly, this book is organized so that its early chapters require no special knowledge of quantum mechanics. Aspects of gauge field theory relying on quantum mechanics are introduced only later and in a graduated fashion--making the text ideal for students studying gauge field theory and quantum mechanics simultaneously. The book begins with the basic concepts on which gauge field theory is built. It introduces gauge-invariant Lagrangians and describes the spectra of linear perturbations, including perturbations above nontrivial ground states. The second part focuses on the construction and interpretation of classical solutions that exist entirely due to the nonlinearity of field equations: solitons, bounces, instantons, and sphalerons. The third section considers some of the interesting effects that appear due to interactions of fermions with topological scalar and gauge fields. Mathematical digressions and numerous problems are included throughout. An appendix sketches the role of instantons as saddle points of Euclidean functional integral and related topics. Perfectly suited as an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate text, this book is an excellent starting point for anyone seeking to understand gauge fields.

Based on his own work, the author synthesizes the most promising approaches and ideals in field theory today. He presents such subjects as statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and their interrelation, continuous global symmetry, non-Abelian gauge fields, instantons and the quantam theory of loops, and quantum strings and random surfaces. This book is aimed at postgraduate students studying field theory and statistical mechanics, and for research workers in continuous global theory.

Acquaints readers with the main concepts and literature of elementary particle physics and quantum field theory. In particular, the book is concerned with the elaboration of gauge field theories in nuclear physics; the possibility of creating fundamental new states of matter such as an extended quark-gluon plasma in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions; and the relation of gauge theories to the creation and evolution of the universe. Divided into three parts, it opens with an introduction to the general principles of relativistic quantum field theory followed by the essential ingredients of gauge fields for weak and electromagnetic interactions, quantum chromodynamics and strong interactions. The third part is concerned with the interface between modern elementary particle physics and "applied disciplines" such as nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Includes references and numerous exercises.

This is perhaps the most up-to-date book on Modern Elementary Particle Physics. The main content is an introduction to Yang-Mills fields, and the Standard Model of Particle Physics. A concise introduction to quarks is provided, with a discussion of the representations of SU(3).The Standard Model is presented in detail, including such topics as the Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, chiral symmetry breaking, and the ?-vacuum. Theoretical topics of a more general nature include path integrals, topological solitons, renormalization group, effective potentials, the axial anomaly, and lattice gauge theory.This second edition, which has been expanded, incorporates the following new subjects: Wilson's renormalization scheme, and its relation to perturbative renormalization; pitfalls in quantizing gauge fields, such as the Gribov ambiguity; the lattice as a consistent regularization; Monte Carlo methods of solution; and the issues, folklores, and scenarios of quark confinement. More than a quarter of the book comprise of new materials.This book may be used as a text for a one-semester course on advanced quantum field theory, or reference book for particle physicists.

Like any books on a subject as vast as this, this book has to have a point-of-view to guide the selection of topics. Naber takes the view that the rekindled interest that mathematics and physics have shown in each other of late should be fostered, and that this is best accomplished by allowing them to cohabit. The book weaves together rudimentary notions from the classical gauge theory of physics with the topological and geometrical concepts that became the mathematical models of these notions. The reader is asked to join the author on some vague notion of what an electromagnetic field might be, to be willing to accept a few of the more elementary pronouncements of quantum mechanics, and to have a solid background in real analysis and linear algebra and some of the vocabulary of modern algebra. In return, the book offers an excursion that begins with the definition of a topological space and finds its way eventually to the moduli space of anti-self-dual SU(2) connections on S4 with instanton number -1.

Gauge fields are the messengers carrying signals between elementary particles, enabling them to interact with each other. Originating at the level of quarks, these basic interactions percolate upwards, through nuclear and atomic physics, through chemical and solid state physics, to make our everyday world go round. This book tells the story of gauge fields, from Maxwell's 1860 theory of electromagnetism to the 1954 theory of Yang and Mills that underlies the Standard Model of elementary particle theory. In the course of the narration, the author introduces people and events in experimental and theoretical physics that contribute to ideas that have shaped our conception of the physical world.

Introduction to Gauge Field Theory provides comprehensive coverage of modern relativistic quantum field theory, emphasizing the details of actual calculations rather than the phenomenology of the applications. Forming a foundation in the subject, the book assumes knowledge of relativistic quantum mechanics, but not of quantum field theory. The book is ideal for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and researchers in the field of particle physics.

First Published in 2018. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

This is an introduction to the basic tools of mathematics needed to understand the relation between knot theory and quantum gravity. The book begins with a rapid course on manifolds and differential forms, emphasizing how these provide a proper language for formulating Maxwell's equations on arbitrary spacetimes. The authors then introduce vector bundles, connections and curvature in order to generalize Maxwell theory to the Yang-Mills equations. The relation of gauge theory to the newly discovered knot invariants such as the Jones polynomial is sketched. Riemannian geometry is then introduced in order to describe Einstein's equations of general relativity and show how an attempt to quantize gravity leads to interesting applications of knot theory.