Under the spell of the gauge principle

G. t Hooft9810213093, 9789810213091, 9810213085, 9789810213084, 9789812384997

Few people studying Gauge Field Theory need to be convinced of the importance of the work of ‘t Hooft. This volume contains a selection of articles and review topics covering his well-known studies on the renormalization of non-Abelian gauge theorems, topological phenomena in gauge field theory and thoughts on the role of black holes in quantum gravity. The chapters are tied together by thoughtful commentaries which provide a background and the illumination of hindsight – together they form a clear and coherent picture of the physical and theoretical importance of gauge theories and the gauge principle. This book is ideal for students and researchers. Gerard ‘t Hooft is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. He has taught at Harvard, SLAC and Caltech prior to his present position. Other distinguished honors include being awarded the Dannie Heineman Prize, the Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Chicago, Wolf Prize of the State of Israel, Pius XI Medal (Vatican), and the Lorentz Medal (KNAW, Amsterdam).

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
UNDER THE SPELL OF THE GAUGE PRINCIPLE……Page 3
CONTENTS……Page 11
PREFACE……Page 9
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……Page 15
CHAPTER 2 RENORMALIZATION OF GAUGE THEORIES……Page 25
Introductions……Page 26
Gauge Field Theory……Page 30
DIAGRAMMAR……Page 42
Gauge theories with unified weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions……Page 188
CHAPTER 3 THE RENORMALIZATION GROUP……Page 219
Introduction……Page 220
The Renormalization Group in Quantum Field Theory……Page 222
CHAPTER 4 EXTENDED OBJECTS……Page 265
Introductions……Page 266
Extended objects in gauge field theories……Page 268
Magnetic monopoles in unified gauge theories……Page 302
CHAPTER 6 INSTANTONS……Page 311
Introductions……Page 312
Computation of the quantum effects due to a four-dimensional pseudoparticle……Page 316
How instantons solve the U(1) problem……Page 335
Naturalness, chiral symmetry, and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking……Page 366
CHAPTER 6 PLANAR DIAGRAMS……Page 389
Introductions……Page 390
Planar diagram field theories……Page 392
A two-dimensional model for mesons……Page 457
Epilogue to the Two-Dimensional Model……Page 467
CHAPTER 7 QUARK CONFINEMENT……Page 469
Introductions……Page 470
Confinement and topology in non-Abelian gauge theories……Page 472
The confinement phenomenon in quantum field theory……Page 528
Can we make sense out of “Quantum Chromodynamics”?……Page 561
CHAPTER 8 QUANTUM GRAVITY AND BLACK HOLES……Page 591
Introductions……Page 592
Quantum gravity……Page 598
Classical N-particle cosmology in 2 + 1 dimensions……Page 620
On the quantum structure of a black hole……Page 633
The gravitational shock wave of a massless particle……Page 643
S-matrix theory for black holes……Page 659
CHAPTER 9 EPILOGUE……Page 679
Can the ultimate laws of nature be found ?……Page 680
INDEX……Page 692