Introduction to Quantum Field Theory in curved spacetime

[explain]

Here is (http://www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/~serge/T6/bookQB.html) a draft of an introductory textbook on quantum field theory in curved spacetime - free quantum fields in expanding universe, Unruh effect, Hawking radiation, also Casimir effect and some basic stuff on path integrals and effective action. The book is not free - will be published soon....

[robphy]

more from one of the authors:
http://www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/~serge/

[Gza]

<cos(nt)|sin(mt)> = \frac {1}{\pi}\int_{-\pi}^{\pi}cos(nt)sin(mt) dt = 0

[Smacal1072]

unless n = m

[smallphi]

explain and robphy, as usual EXCELLENT POSTS! and I am not the type that gives praises for nothing :)

I was struggling with Birrel and Davies "Quantum Fields in Curved Space" which is like trying to learn english from the phone directory lol

[rrogers]

You mean that I am not the only one who found "Quantum Fields in Curved Space" difficult? I thought I was failing yet another IQ test.

[explain]

I think Birrell-Davies is pretty much unreadable for a beginning graduate student. If you already have a PhD and have working knowledge of quantum field theory then you can understand Birrell-Davies with considerable effort. In my view this is the case with almost any advanced monograph. Another similar example is Hawking-Ellis "Large scale structure of spacetime" (for classical singularity theorems). The problem is that students in these subjects have only these monographs to study and no other textbooks.

[rrogers]

Actually I had no problem with "Large scale structure of spacetime". Shows where my preferences and knowledge lie. It, and a few other books, motivated me to study differential geometry as a independent subject.