I am a graduate student in quantum optics. Should I learn QFT?

[Haorong Wu]

I am particularly interesting in QFT, and I am going to be a graduate student in quantum optics and quantum information this autumn.

Strangely, I find that there is no courses for QFT. After all, I though QFT are about quantum and field, and quantum optics are about quantum and field, too.

Anyway, I am eager to learn some QFT, but I am not sure how hard would it be. What are the prerequisite courses? QM is necessary, of course. Should I learn some general relativity? What about group theory?

I hope to be a theoretical physicist. I think it would be best that I learn some QFT. But if it would take too much time to study QFT, I may have to delay it to later time.

Thanks!

 

[f95toli]

Quantum optics and QIP is in general is quite distinct from QFT.
It is quite unlikely that you will need a full course in QFT as a graduate student, but that does not mean that you shouldn't shouldn't study it anyway.

 

[PeroK]

Anyway, I am eager to learn some QFT, but I am not sure how hard would it be. What are the prerequisite courses? QM is necessary, of course. Should I learn some general relativity? What about group theory?

There are some course notes here, if you want to take a look:

https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/qft/qft.pdf