Lattice field theory is the most reliable tool for investigating non-perturbative phenomena in particle physics. It has also become a cross-discipline, overlapping with other physical sciences and computer science. This book covers new developments in the area of algorithms, statistical physics, parallel computers and quantum computation, as well as recent advances concerning the standard model and beyond, the QCD vacuum, the glueball, hadron and quark masses, finite temperature and density, chiral fermions, SUSY, and heavy quark effective theory.
Lattice field theory is the most reliable tool for investigating non-perturbative phenomena in particle physics. It has also become a cross-discipline, overlapping with other physical sciences and computer science. This book covers new developments in the area of algorithms, statistical physics, parallel computers and quantum computation, as well as recent advances concerning the standard model and beyond, the QCD vacuum, the glueball, hadron and quark masses, finite temperature and density, chiral fermions, SUSY, and heavy quark effective theory.
During the past 15 years, quantum field theory and classical statistical mechanics have merged into a single field, and the need for nonperturbative methods for the description of critical phenomena in statistical mechanics as well as for problems in elementary particle physics are generally acknowledged. Such methods formed the central theme of the 1987 Cargese Advanced Study Institut. e on "Nonpert. urbat. ive Quantum Field Theory." The use of conformal symmet. ry has been of central interest in recent years, and was a main subject at. t. he ASI. Conformal invariant quantum field theory describes statistical mechanical systems exactly at a critical point, and can be analysed to a remarkable ext. ent. by group t. heoretical methods. Very strong results have been obtained for 2-dimensional systems. Conformal field theory is also the basis of string theory, which offers some hope of providing a unified t. heory of all interactions between elementary particles. Accordingly, a number of lectures and seminars were presented on these two topics. After syst. ematic introductory lectures, conformal field theory on Riemann surfaces, orbifolds, sigma models, and application of loop group theory and Grassmannians were discussed, and some ideas on modular geometry were presented. Other lectures combined' traditional techniques of constructive quant. um field theory with new methods such as the use of index-t. heorems and infinite dimensional (Kac Moody) symmetry groups. The problems encountered in a quantum mechanical description of black holes were discussed in detail.
The aim of the book is to familiarize the new generation of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows with the principles and methods of modern lattice field theory, which aims to resolve fundamental, non-perturbative questions about QCD without uncontrolled approximations.
This book contains the proceedings of the Workshop on Nonperturbative Methods in Quantum Field Theory, held in Adelaide, Australia, in February 1998. Lattice gauge theory and calculations based on the use of Schwinger-Dyson equations feature prominently, with further contributions in the areas of variational and functional techniques, strong interaction phenomenology and chiral perturbation theory. QCD in the infrared regime as well as QCD at finite temperatures and densities is the subject matter of a number of papers, while other authors explore chiral symmetry breaking in QCD as well as in other field theories.
Providing a new perspective on quantum field theory, this book is useful for graduate students and researchers within and outside the field. It describes non-perturbative methods, and explores two-dimensional and four-dimensional gauge dynamics using those methods. Applications are thoroughly described.
This first open access volume of the handbook series contains articles on the standard model of particle physics, both from the theoretical and experimental perspective. It also covers related topics, such as heavy-ion physics, neutrino physics and searches for new physics beyond the standard model. A joint CERN-Springer initiative, the "Particle Physics Reference Library" provides revised and updated contributions based on previously published material in the well-known Landolt-Boernstein series on particle physics, accelerators and detectors (volumes 21A, B1,B2,C), which took stock of the field approximately one decade ago. Central to this new initiative is publication under full open access
The book addresses aspects of QCD which are related to its underlying structure as a field theory and to its mechanisms. Perturbative expansions do not work at large distances for QCD: the hadron spectrum, the confinement of colour, its deconfinement at high temperatures and the breaking of chiral symmetry all need nonperturbative methods of analysis. Sum rules, chiral perturbation theory and the formulation of QCD on a lattice are some of the tools used to test models, like the stochastic vacuum, the instanton liquid or the consideration of monopoles in the vacuum to produce dual superconductivity and confinement. The work covers different points of view and critical comparison between the different approaches. It can be considered a good reference text.
