Written by a renowned professor of physics, this introductory text is
geared toward graduate students taking a year-long course in quantum
mechanics in which the third quarter is devoted to relativistic wave
equations and field theory. Difficult concepts are introduced gradually,
and the theory is applied to physically interesting problems.
After an introductory chapter on the formation of quantum mechanics, the
treatment advances to examinations of the quantum theory of the free
electromagnetic field, the interaction of radiation and matter, second
quantization, the interaction of quantized fields, and quantum
electrodynamics. Additional topics include the theory of beta decay,
particles that interact among themselves, quasi particles in plasmas and
metals, and the problem of infinities in quantum electrodynamics. The
Appendix contains selected answers to problems that appear throughout
the text.