edited by Gerardus 't Hooft (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
On the 50th anniversary of Yang–Mills theory, this invaluable volume
looks back at the developments and achievements in elementary particle
physics that ensued from that beautiful idea.
During the
last five decades, Yang-Mills theory, which is undeniably the most
important cornerstone of theoretical physics, has expanded widely. It
has been investigated from many perspectives, and many new and
unexpected features have been uncovered from this theory. In recent
decades, apart from high energy physics, the theory has been actively
applied in other branches of physics, such as statistical physics,
condensed matter physics, nonlinear systems, etc. This makes the theory
an indispensable topic for all who are involved in physics.
An
international team of experts, each of whom has left his mark on the
developments of this remarkable theory, contribute essays or more
detailed technical accounts to this volume. These articles highlight
the new discoveries from the respective authors’ perspectives. The
distinguished contributors are: S Adler, F A Bais, C Becchi, M Creutz,
A De Rújula, B S DeWitt, F Englert, L D Faddeev, P Hasenfratz, R
Jackiw, A Polyakov, V N Popov, R Stora, P van Baal, P van
Nieuwenhuizen, S Weinberg, F Wilczek, E Witten, C N Yang. Included in
each article are introductory and explanatory remarks by the editor, G
’t Hooft, who is himself a major player in the development of
Yang-Mills theory.
Contents:
Quantizing Gauge Field Theories
Ghosts for Physicists
Breaking the Symmetry
Towards the Standard Model
Renormalization
Anomalies
Asymptotic Freedom
Magnetic Monopoles
Quark Confinement and Strings
Fixing in Gauge Condition Non-Perturbatively
The Lattice
Fermions on the Lattice
Confrontation with Experiment
Supersymmetry and Supergravity
Physics of the 21st Century
Readership: All physicists and mathematicians.
“50 Years of Yang-Mills Theory
edited by Gerardus ’t Hooft is both delightful and deep. It begins with
pages written in March 1947 by C N Yang, when he was a graduate student
at the University of Chicago. The 1967 Popov and Faddeev Kiev Report is
reproduced in translation and the Englert paper on broken symmetry and
Yang-Mills Theory appears. ’t Hooft's deep insights put the papers into
context and I'm sure that I can continually learn more by revisiting
this volume.”
Professor Gerry Brown SUNY, Stony Brook
“This
book provides an excellent historical survey of the development of
Yang-Mills theory, written by those most involved in its creation. It
also has valuable comments on the present situation, so that it will be
useful for current research.”
Sir Michael Atiyah Fields Medalist and Honorary Professor of Mathematics University of Edinburgh