RAZY good QED: Top Textbooks for Independent Learning

[cabrera]

Hi,

I am interested on learning QED on my own. I have a good background in QM. What are the best textbook that would you recommend?

C

 

[vanhees71]

The best textbooks are the ones by Weinberg, Quantum Theory of Fields (Vol. I for the foundations, Vol. II for gauge theories and the standard model, Vol. III covers SUSY).

Perhaps, however, it's not the best book to begin with. For that purpose I'd recommend Ryder's book. Also Peskin/Schroeder is not too bad, but has to be read very carefully, because it's full of typos and unfortunately also there are misconceptions on some points (e.g., even in a chapter about renormalization-group issues occur logarithms with dimensionful quantities, which is quite ironic, isn't it?).

The only book, I must warn about is Zee's QFT in a Nutshell. Usually people get confused from it!

 

[cabrera]

It is just curiosity, vanhees71, it seems that Zee's book is highly reviewed over the web. What is the problem with it? Iwas thought QM in a brutal way. It was basically the two Cohen-Tannoudji Volumes. Al lot of vector space and group theory applied to some particular cases: Hamitonlian with some type of potential or under some type of coordianes. I learned the algebra but I did not undrestand the physics. I was able to solve a second order pertubration problem given a potential, but I could not explain why the Heinserberg principle explains atom's stability.

It studied it 17 year ago. I am re-learning QM by myself. I hated QM when i studied it. I am learning to love it now..I woould like a textbook that focus on the physics and less in the algebra of group theory...maybe I am talking rubbish

 

[Sonderval]

I think Zees book often gives very intuitive explanations, that's a plus. Sometimes these explanations are not too good, (for example on vacuum fluctuations), so that's a minus. The math is explained in some detail, especially at the beginning, but I think that he is sometimes a bit sloppy.
So I would say yes, read it , but use other books as well. (My experience is that in QFT it is good to read several books in parallel.)
BTW, there are many threads here on what the best intro to QFT is...

 

[cabrera]

OK, I'll search them

 

[Bill_K]

The only book, I must warn about is Zee's QFT in a Nutshell. Usually people get confused from it!

I would add to this, "Quantum Field Theory", by Michio Kaku. I don't know what ever possessed me.

 

[ftr]

The best book is

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691033277/?tag=pfamazon01-20

you get all the original work and the thinking. lots of details in a story like setting.

 

[George Jones]

In my opinion the books by Aitchison and Hey

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1466513179/?tag=pfamazon01-20

are excellent for self-study of introductory quantum field theory. If you are not interested in going beyond an introduction to QED, the first volume will suffice. If you want to learn about QCD and electroweak theory, then also study the second volume.