This course gives an introduction to the concepts and methods of many body problems and quantum fields as used by experimenters and theorists. The formalism is developed together with descriptions of a number of physical systems in Elementary Particle Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, and Statistical Mechanics such as the interaction of matter and radiation, multi-electron systems, superconductivity, nuclear structure, and interactions by particle exchange.
Physics 483 is the first half of a two-semester sequence of courses in Quantum Field Theory.. Prerequisites are a basic knowledge of Quantum Mechanics (Physics 480, 481) and Classical Electromagnetism.
There will be a total of six homework sets with applications to different problems in various areas of Physics in which Field Theory plays an essential role. There will not be a midterm exam, but there will be a Final Exam.