Undergraduate Course: Relativistic Quantum Field Theory (PHYS11021)

Course Outline
School	School of Physics and Astronomy	College	College of Science and Engineering
Course type	Standard	Availability	Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate)	Credits	10
Home subject area	Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)	Other subject area	None
Course website	None	Taught in Gaelic?	No
Course description	This course begins with a review of relativistic wave equations. It introduces the Lagrangian formulation for classical fields and then discusses the quantisation of free fields with spins 0, 1/2 and 1. An outline is given of perturbation theory for interacting fields and Feynman diagram methods for Quantum Electrodynamics are introduced.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Lagrangian Dynamics (PHYS10015) AND Methods of Mathematical Physics (PHYS10034) AND Quantum Theory (PHYS11019) AND Symmetries of Classical Mechanics (PHYS10088) AND Classical Electrodynamics (PHYS11045)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	At least 80 credit points accrued in courses of SCQF Level 9 or 10 drawn from Schedule Q.
Additional Costs	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)			Learn enabled: Yes	Quota: None
Web Timetable	Web Timetable
Class Delivery Information	Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Course Start Date	16/09/2013
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 11, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 61 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name	Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)	Relativistic Quantum Field Theory	2:00

Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)			Learn enabled: No	Quota: None
Web Timetable	Web Timetable
Class Delivery Information	Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Course Start Date	16/09/2013
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 61 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name	Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)	Relativistic Quantum Field Theory (VS1)	2:00

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course a student will be able to: 1)Appreciate the need for a field-theoretical approach to relativistic quantum theory 2)Write down the Lagrangian and derive the field equations for scalar, spinor and vector fields, demonstrate Lorentz covariance of the field equations 3)Derive and appreciate the significance of Noether's theorem 4)Quantise the real and complex scalar fields using canonical commutation relations, derive the quantum Hamiltonian, interpret the spectrum, appreciate relativistic normalisation 5)Derive the conserved current and charge operators for the complex scalar field and explain the connection between charge conservation and symmetry 6)Derive the propagator for real and complex scalar fields 7)Quantise the Dirac field using anticommutators, derive the Hamiltonian, interpret the spectrum, derive the conserved current and charge operator, appreciate the connection between charge conservation and symmetry, derive the propagator for the Dirac field 8)Understand the difficulties of em field quantisation due to gauge invariance, quantise the EM field using the Gupta-Bleuler formalism, derive the Hamiltonian, spectrum, and propagator 9)Explain the minimal coupling presciption for adding electromagnetic interactions, understand the gauge principle 10)Understand the interaction picture, the S-matrix, Wick's Theorem 11)Explain the origin of Feynman diagrams and Feynman rules; draw the Feynman diagrams for Compton scattering, electron scattering, electron and photon self-energies 12)Apply the Feynman rules to derive the amplitudes for elementary processes in QED 13)Explain the origin of the expressions for the transition rate, decay rates and unpolarised cross section 14)Apply all of the above to unseen problems in relativistic quantum field theory

Assessment Information
Degree Examination 80% Coursework 20%

Special Arrangements
None

Additional Information
Academic description	Not entered
Syllabus	� Introduction and revision � Classical Lagrangian field theory. � Lorentz covariance of relativistic field equations. � Quantisation of the Klein-Gordon field. � Quantisation of the Dirac field. � The Electromagnetic field. � Interacting fields. � Feynman diagrams. � Transition rates and cross-sections.
Transferable skills	Not entered
Reading list	Not entered
Study Abroad	Not entered
Study Pattern	Not entered
Keywords	RQFT

Contacts
Course organiser	Prof Anthony Kennedy Tel: (0131 6)50 5272 Email: Tony.Kennedy@ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Ms Dawn Hutcheon Tel: (0131 6)50 7218 Email: Dawn.Hutcheon@ed.ac.uk