Department of Physics

18209  Quantum Field Theory ΙΙ   

Course Webpage: https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/PHYS382

Course Content

• Introduction to path integrals (harmonic oscillator, stationary phase approximation, Van Vleck formula, perturbation theory, generating functions, path integral and propagators of scalar fields, Dirac fields and Abelian gauge fields, perturbation theory in φ⁴ theory and in the O(N) model)
• Renormalization group and critical phenomena (Wilsonian RG, Callan–Symanzik equation, application to φ⁴ theory and the O(N) model)
• Ward–Takahashi identities and quantum anomalies (elements of Lie group theory, spacetime symmetries, conformal symmetry, gauging of symmetries, quantum conservation laws, the Adler–Bell–Jackiw anomaly via the Fujikawa method and other methods, algebraic structure of anomalies and Wess–Zumino consistency conditions)
• Yang–Mills theories (algebraic structure, quantization via the path integral, Faddeev–Popov method and BRST symmetry, perturbation theory)
• Introduction to conformal field theories (conformal symmetry in two and higher dimensions, representations, Weyl anomaly, Operator Product Expansions from Ward–Takahashi identities, structure of correlation functions)
• Introduction to supersymmetry (Poincaré superalgebra and its representations, superspace and off-shell representations, supersymmetric models)