Abstract
In the preceding two chapters we studied freely moving particles. However, a complete absence of interactions can hardly be considered realistic, for in general, particles do interact with one another or with external fields. After all, it is precisely through these interactions that the particles are observed. In this chapter, we will develop a practical method for introducing interactions among relativistic quantum fields and for calculating experimentally measurable quantities such as reaction cross-sections and decay rates.
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Suggestions for Further Reading
A good discussion of the formulation of quantum field theory in the interaction and the Heisenberg representations can be found in
Schweber, S. S., An Introduction to Relativistic Quantum Field Theory. Row, Peterson and Co., Evanston, IL 1961
More systematic treatments of the perturbative theory are found in
Itzykson, C. and Zuber, J.-B., Quantum Field Theory. McGraw-Hill, New York 1980
Peskin, M. E. and Schroeder, D. V., Quantum Field Theory. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA 1995
The reader will find other examples of physical processes in
Bjorken, J. D. and Drell, S. D., Relativistic Quantum Mechanics. McGraw-Hill, New York 1964
Gross, F., Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Field Theory. Wiley-Interscience, New York 1993
Halzen, F. and Martin, A. D. Quarks and Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics. Wiley, New York 1984
Nachtmann, O., Elementary Particle Physics, Concepts and Phenomena. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1990
For further study of quantum electrodynamics, the reader may refer to
Feynman, R. P., Quantum Electrodynamics. Benjamin, New York 1961
Feynman, R. P., The Theory of Fundamental Processes. Benjamin, New York 1962
Schwinger, J., Selected Papers on Quantum Electrodynamics. Dover, New York 1958
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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Ho-Kim, Q., Pham, XY. (1998). Collisions and Decays. In: Elementary Particles and Their Interactions. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03712-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03712-6_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08349-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-03712-6
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