Quantum Field Theory II: Quantum Electrodynamics [electronic resource] : A Bridge between Mathematicians and Physicists / by Eberhard Zeidler.

Prologue -- Mathematical Principles of Modern Natural Philosophy -- The Basic Strategy of Extracting Finite Information from Infinities – Ariadne’s Thread in Renormalization Theory -- The Power of Combinatorics -- The Strategy of Equivalence Classes in Mathematics -- Basic Ideas in Classical Mechanics -- Geometrical Optics -- The Principle of Critical Action and the Harmonic Oscillator – Ariadne’s Thread in Classical Mechanics -- Basic Ideas in Quantum Mechanics -- Quantization of the Harmonic Oscillator – Ariadne’s Thread in Quantization -- Quantum Particles on the Real Line – Ariadne’s Thread in Scattering Theory -- A Glance at General Scattering Theory -- Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) -- Creation and Annihilation Operators -- The Basic Equations in Quantum Electrodynamics -- The Free Quantum Field of Electrons, Positrons, and Photons -- The Interacting Quantum Field, and the Magic Dyson Series for the S-Matrix -- The Beauty of Feynman Diagrams in QED -- Applications to Physical Effects -- Renormalization -- The Continuum Limit -- Radiative Corrections of Lowest Order -- A Glance at Renormalization to all Orders of Perturbation Theory -- Perspectives.

This is the second volume of a modern introduction to quantum field theory which addresses both mathematicians and physicists ranging from advanced undergraduate students to professional scientists. This book seeks to bridge the existing gap between the different languages used by mathematicians and physicists. For students of mathematics it is shown that detailed knowledge of the physical background helps to discover interesting interrelationships between quite diverse mathematical topics. For students of physics fairly advanced mathematics, beyond that included in the usual curriculum in physics, is presented. The present volume concerns a detailed study of the mathematical and physical aspects of the quantum theory of light.