Steven Weinberg was een Amerikaanse theoretisch fysicus wiens werk ons begrip van de fundamentele krachten van het universum opnieuw vormgaf. Hij ontving de Nobelprijs voor zijn bijdragen aan de eenwording van de zwakke en elektromagnetische wisselwerkingen tussen elementaire deeltjes. Weinberg's onderzoek omvatte de deeltjestheorie en kosmologie, en liet een erfenis van diepgaande inzichten in de aard van de werkelijkheid achter. Zijn occasionele geschriften verkenden de bredere implicaties van wetenschappelijke ontdekkingen voor menselijk denken.
This introduction to quantum field theory, authored by Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg, offers an in-depth exploration of fundamental concepts in the field. It is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, combining theoretical insights with practical applications. The text emphasizes clarity and rigor, making complex ideas accessible while providing a solid foundation in the principles of quantum mechanics and particle physics. This paperback edition brings Weinberg's acclaimed work to a broader audience, enhancing its reach and impact.
This comprehensive introduction to quantum field theory, authored by Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg, offers an in-depth exploration of the subject, blending theoretical concepts with practical applications. First published in 1996, it serves as a foundational text for students and researchers, elucidating complex topics with clarity and precision. Weinberg's expertise and insights provide readers with a profound understanding of the principles that govern particle physics and the interactions of fundamental forces.
This book is unique in the detailed, self-contained, and comprehensive treatment that it gives to the ideas and formulas that are used and tested in modern cosmological research. It divides into two parts, each of which provides enough material for a one-semester graduate course. The first part deals chiefly with the isotropic and homogeneous average universe; the second part concentrates on the departures from the average universe. Throughout the book the author presents detailed analytic calculations of cosmological phenomena, rather than just report results obtained elsewhere by numerical computation. The book is up to date, and gives detailed accounts of topics such as recombination, microwave background polarization, leptogenesis, gravitational lensing, structure formation, and multifield inflation, that are usually treated superficially if at all in treatises on cosmology. Copious references to current research literature are supplied. Appendices include a briefintroduction to general relativity, and a detailed derivation of the Boltzmann equation for photons and neutrinos used in calculations of cosmological evolution. Also provided is an assortment of problems.
An understanding of nature's final laws may be within our grasp - a way of
explaining forces and symmetries and articles that does not require further
explanation. In it he discusses beauty, the weakness of philosophy, the best
ideas in physics and the honour of accepting a world without god.
Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg offers a thorough introduction to supersymmetry, exploring its fundamental concepts and implications in theoretical physics. This paperback edition presents complex ideas in an accessible manner, making it suitable for both students and enthusiasts. Weinberg's expertise provides valuable insights into the significance of supersymmetry in understanding the universe, bridging gaps between various areas of physics while emphasizing its potential impact on future research.
In To Explain the World, pre-eminent theoretical physicist Steven Weinberg
offers a rich and irreverent history of science from a unique perspective -
that of a scientist. Moving from ancient Miletus to medieval Baghdad to
Oxford, and from the Museum of Alexandria to the Royal Society of London, he
shows that the scientists of the past not only did not understand what we
understand about the world - they did not understand what there is to
understand. Yet eventually, through the struggle to solve such mysteries as
the backward movement of the planets and the rise and fall of tides, the
modern discipline of science emerged.
One of the world's most captivating scientists challenges us to think about
nature's foundations and the entanglement of science and society. Steven
Weinberg, author of The First Three Minutes, offers his views on fascinating
aspects of physics and the universe, but does not seclude science behind
disciplinary walls, or shy away from politics.
Just as Henry David Thoreau “traveled a great deal in Concord,” Nobel Prize–winning physicist Steven Weinberg sees much of the world from the window of his study overlooking Lake Austin. In Lake Views Weinberg, considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive today, continues the wide-ranging reflections that have also earned him a reputation as, in the words of New York Times reporter James Glanz, “a powerful writer of prose that can illuminate—and sting.” This collection presents Weinberg’s views on topics ranging from problems of cosmology to assorted world issues—military, political, and religious. Even as he moves beyond the bounds of science, each essay reflects his experience as a theoretical physicist. And as in the celebrated Facing Up , the essays express a viewpoint that is rationalist, reductionist, realist, and secular. A new introduction precedes each essay, explaining how it came to be written and bringing it up to date where necessary. As an essayist, Weinberg insists on seeing things as they are, without despair and with good humor. Sure to provoke his readers—postmodern cultural critics, enthusiasts for manned space flight or missile defense, economic conservatives, sociologists of science, anti-Zionists, and religious zealots—this book nonetheless offers the pleasure of a sustained encounter with one of the most interesting scientific minds of our time.
In this two-volume work, Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg presents a self-contained and comprehensive introduction to quantum field theory, blending exceptional physical insight with clear exposition. Volume I lays the groundwork by logically developing the foundations of quantum field theory, carefully motivating each step and emphasizing its relevance to understanding nature. Starting with a brief historical overview, the text revisits the principles of relativity and quantum mechanics, leading to the natural emergence of quantum field theory. Weinberg modernizes classic calculations of quantum electrodynamics, employing path integrals and dimensional regularization, while his treatment of renormalization reflects evolving perspectives since the introduction of effective field theories. The scope extends beyond quantum electrodynamics to encompass elementary particle and nuclear physics, enriched with original material, examples, and insights from the author’s extensive research experience. Each chapter concludes with problems, making this work an invaluable reference for physicists and mathematicians utilizing quantum field theory. It also serves as an appropriate textbook for graduate students in the field.
