Principles of Quantum Electrodynamics concentrates on one of the best understood parts of quantum field theory, quantum electrodynamics. It emphasizes the physical basis of the theory and avoids purely mathematical details. For this reason, the book should not be taken as a handbook of field theory, but rather as a compendium of the most characteristic and interesting results which have been obtained up to now. The book is organized into four parts. Part I develops the general mathematical framework, covering units and orders of magnitude, classical electrodynamics, and the general formalism of the quantum theory of fields. Part II deals with free fields. It examines some problems concerning the physical interpretation of the theory and asks whether the quantization procedure adopted actually introduces quantum characteristics and, if so, how these are expressed by the formalism. It also investigates the expectation values of more complicated expressions. Part III examines the effects of a mechanism which produces the particles under consideration; i.e., an external source of the fields. Part IV deals with quantum fields in interaction. The focus is on the case of a quantized electromagnetic field, the source of which is a quantized Dirac field.

Foreword to the German EditionForeword to the English EditionNotationPart I. General Introduction 1. Units and Orders of Magnitude A. Structure of Atoms B. Emission of Photons C. Scattering of Particles D. Quantum Effects of the Electric Field 2. Classical Electrodynamics 3. The General Formalism of the Quantum Theory of FieldsPart II. Free Fields 4. General Discussion 5. Special Fields 6. Matrix Elements 7. Fluctuation PhenomenaPart III. Fields with External Sources 8. General Formula 9. Emission of Light 10. The Dirac Field in an External Electric Field 11. The Limitations of MeasurabilityPart IV. Interacting Fields 12. General Orientation 13. Scattering Processes 14. Renormalization Theory 15. Higher Order Corrections 16. OutlookAppendixes Appendix I Appendix IIProblemsSolutionsSubject Index