Abstract
In this closing chapter we have decided to present a few special topics in quantum field theory that have applications in cosmology and particle phenomenology. Given that we have not covered so many things in this book, the number of subjects to choose from is vast. Our choice is to study the creation of particles by classical external sources, including the Schwinger effect: the creation of electron–positron pair in a strong electric field; and then to explore the general properties of supersymmetric theories. Currently a large fraction of theories beyond the standard model are based on various supersymmetric completions. The reader will find the most rudimentary properties of such theories and the basic representation of this new symmetry.
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Notes
- 1.
We could have taken instead the advanced propagator \(G_{A}(x)\) in which case \(\phi_{0}(x)\) would correspond to the solution to the equation at large times, after the interaction with J(x).
- 2.
Our analysis essentially ignores the effect of the spin of the electron, the two helicities being treated as scalar fields. A more careful treatment of the problem using the Dirac equation can be found in [2].
- 3.
Technically this is correct only if the additional symmetry is additive in the incoming and outgoing Hilbert spaces. If this additivity is violated, then the conclusion does not hold.
- 4.
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Álvarez-Gaumé, L., Vázquez-Mozo, M.Á. (2012). Special Topics. In: An Invitation to Quantum Field Theory. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 839. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23728-7_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23728-7_13
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