From Particles to Fields

Abstract

Quantum field theory is a set of rules using which high energy physicists can “shut up and calculate” the behaviour of particles at high energies. The resulting predictions match incredibly well with experiments, showing that these rules must have (at least) a grain of truth in them. While a practitioner of the art might be satisfied in inventing and using these rules (and picking up the resultant Nobel prizes), some students might be curious to know the conceptual motivation behind these computational rules and their relationship to the non-relativistic quantum mechanics (NRQM) they are familiar with.