PittsburghQFTGroup

contact: b w r 6 atpittdotedu

Fall 2007 Meetings: Thursdays @ 8pm - Chez Mike & Balázs - Address available upon request.

About: The QFT Group at the University of Pittsburgh is a graduate student reading group for those interested in quantum field theory and its bearing on the philosophy of physics. The reading group led by students in the HPS and philosophy departments, and is open to all interested graduates.

Upcoming Meetings:

• Sept 27 - Review of graduate-level Quantum Mechanics. Reading: EITHER Sakurai Chapters 1-2 OR Ballentine Chapters 1-4 & 6. Electronic copies of both are available upon request. Discussion leader: Balázs. Please try to send notes & questions to the group list one day ahead of time to prepare for discussion.


• Oct 4 - Intro to QFT
  
• Oct 11 - Intro to QFT
  
• Oct 18 - Intro to QFT
  
• Oct 25 - Intro to QFT
  
• Nov 1 - Intro to QFT
  
• Nov 8 - Algebraic QFT
  
• Nov 15 - AQFT
  
• Nov 22 - AQFT
  
• Nov 29 - AQFT
  

Previous Meetings:

• Sept 20 - Introductory meeting. Reading: Kuhlmann's Quantum Field Theory in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Come with ideas and suggestions for the reading group!
  
  Discussion summary: Bryan walked us through and gave a nice general outline of the philosophical issues raised by the author and by himself, and gave a brief intro to groups; after that Balázs spent almost two hours with going through the technical parts of sections 3 and 4. He essentially repeated and explained (where he could) what was in the text and put it into the context of what I know from regular QM.
  
  

Resources:

Articles and Anthologies:

• Arageorgis, Earman & Ruetsche (2003): Fulling Non-Uniqueness and the Unruh Effect: A Primer on Some Aspects of Quantum Field Theory
• Brown & Harré (2003): Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Available on Amazon (also, there is a free HPS copy available).
• Buchholz (1994): On the Manifestation of Particles
• Buchholz (2000): Current trends in axiomatic quantum field theory
• Earman & Fraser (2005): Haag's Theorem and its Implications for the Foundations of Quantum Field Theory
• Earman & Ruetsche (2003): Relativistic Invariance and Modal Interpretations
• Halvorson & Mueger (2006): Algebraic Quantum Field Theory
• Hartmann (2005): Idealization in Quantum Field Theory
• MacKinnon (2005): Generating Ontology: From Quantum Mechanics to Quantum Field Theory
• MacKinnon (2006): The Standard Model as a Philosophical Challenge
• Wipf (1998): Quantum Fields near Black Holes

Textbooks:

Baez, Segal & Zhou: Intro to AQFT (This is the one we are working with for the last few sessions.)


Lahiri & Pall, 2005. A First Book of Quantum Field Theory, 2nd Ed.
A possible textbook.


Weinberg, 1995. The Quantum Theory of Fields.
A possible textbook. One of the introductory QFT textbooks used at MIT.


Brown and Lowell, 1994. Quantum Field Theory.
A possible textbook. One of the introductory QFT textbooks used at MIT.


Srednicki, 2007. Quantum Field Theory.
A possible textbook.


Mandi and Shaw, 1993. Quantum Field Theory, Rev. Ed.
A possible textbook.


Bratelli & Robinson, 2002. Operator Algebras and Quantum Statistical Mechanics.
This is an excellent resource, especially given the price. Download it for free from Bratelli's website: Volume I (38.8 MB) and Volume II (49.9 MB). However, it is a little bit ruthless as an introductory text, and is not our primary reference source.

Baez, Segal & Zhou. 1992. Introduction to Algebraic and Constructive Quantum Field Theory.
A possible textbook. Available in enormous (193mb) PDF format at John Baez's website.

Online:

• The Stanford Encylcopedia entry on Quantum Field Theory.
• Google QFT Directory.
• QFT at Pittsburgh's PhilSci Archive.
• Universität Hamburg's AQFT Resources


• John Baez's non-mathematical introductions to C*-algebras, Renormalization, and Noether's Theorem.
• Shirkov's introduction to the Renormalization Group.
• SLAC summary on Feynman Diagrams.