Fields, Symmetries, and Quarks

This textbook covers elements of quantum field theory, symmetry principles, gauge field theories and phenomenological descriptions of hadrons, with special emphasis on topics relevant to hadron and nuclear physics. Written at an introductory level, it is aimed at nuclear physicists in general and experimentalists in particular who need a working knowledge of field theory, symmetry principles of elementary particles and their interactions and the quark structure of hadrons. It will also be of benefit to graduate students who need an understanding of the basics of these topics for their work in other fields.

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This revised and extended edition of the book Fields, Symmetries, and Quarks, originally published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Hamburg, 1989, contains a new chapter on electroweak interactions which has also grown out of lectures that I have given in the meantime. In addition, a number of changes, mainly in the metric used, in the discussion of the theory of strong interactions, QCD, and in the chapter on hadron physics, have been made and errors have been corrected. The motivation for this book, however, is still the same as it was 10 years ago: This is a book on quantum field theory and our present understanding of leptons and hadrons for advanced students and the non-specialists and, in particular, the experimentalists working on problems of nuclear and hadron physics. I am grateful to Dr. S. Leupold for a very careful reading of the revised manuscript, many corrections, and helpful suggestions and to C. Traxler for producing the figures and for constructive discussions.