The Quantum Theory of Fields, Volume 3: Supersymmetry | 
| Author: Steven Weinberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $56.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 216578
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 442
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0521670551
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.143
EAN: 9780521670555
ASIN: 0521670551
Publication Date: May 9, 2005
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Product Description
Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg continues his masterly exposition of quantum field theory. This third volume of The Quantum Theory of Fields presents a self-contained, up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to supersymmetry, a highly active area of theoretical physics that is likely to be at the center of future progress in the physics of elementary particles and gravitation. The text introduces and explains a broad range of topics, including supersymmetric algebras, supersymmetric field theories, extended supersymmetry, supergraphs, nonperturbative results, theories of supersymmetry in higher dimensions, and supergravity. A thorough review is given of the phenomenological implications of supersymmetry, including theories of both gauge and gravitationally-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Also provided is an introduction to mathematical techniques, based on holomorphy and duality, that have proved so fruitful in recent developments. This book contains much material not found in other books on supersymmetry, some of it published here for the first time. Problems are included.
Book Description
In this third volume of The Quantum Theory of Fields, available for the first time in paperback, Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg continues his masterly exposition of quantum field theory. This volume presents a self-contained and comprehensive introduction to supersymmetry, a highly active area of theoretical physics. Along with mathematical formalism, a thorough review is given of the phenomenological implications of supersymmetry. The book contains much material not found in other books on supersymmetry, including previously unpublished results.
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| Customer Reviews:
Beuatiful and pedagogical December 24, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm a beginning graduate student in theoretical physics, who learned SUSY from the ground up from Weinberg's text. Weinberg is by far the best text I could find on SUSY. It is totally self-contained* - every equation can be checked by the reader. Every idea is solidly explained, and the choice of topics is extremely relevant.
In the very beginning (I knew very little SUSY) my impulse was to avoid this book, as the "notation" seemed kind of heavy, there were too many long equations (superfield identities), and it was clear that reading the book was going to be a serious endeavor**. Instead I was looking for a quick fix. However, having found the other sources inadequate***, I gave Weinberg another try. I learned how to read his book ~ read it actively, checking the equations at the level of looking for typos. I poured in many hard hours, and have a binder full of derivations to show for it****. But I never had another problem with SUSY again, and as a result was very well equipped to tackle the literature.
I really like how Weinberg builds SUSY from the ground up. He makes it come together so logically, and coherently, it is nice to watch, and I feel one is rewarded in deeper understanding.
His treatment is original and improves in many ways upon the original literature. His treatment of SUSY representation theory and constructions of superfields is excellent. His treatment of holomorphy arguments is the best I've found anywhere (literature included). His treatment of Seiberg-Witten is his own pedagogically minded retelling of that story ~ it takes a slightly different angle than the original work, and fills in many of the details. Reading the original Seiberg-Witten afterwards was much facilitated.
A word on prerequisites: A basic knowledge of QFT is needed ~ if you have Weinberg's Vol I, II, this is overkill. However, you should be comfortable with the representation theory of the Lorentz group ~ especially spinors. Weinberg provides useful appendices on spinors in Vol III, and has the rep. theory in Vol I (an understanding of angular momentum at the level of say Sakurai ch 3 helps here). To understand the interesting non-perturbative results (chapter 29) you must be comfortable with 1-loop beta functions in YM, and the chiral anomaly (covered in Vol II as well as many other texts).
A caution on typos: There are many minor typos which you will never notice unless you rederive the particular offending equation. I know of over fifty. The nature of the subject is such that there could have been many more though. However, the errors often do not propogate ~ subsequent equations are usually typo free. There doesn't seem to be an errata website, which is unfortunate.
Finally, there are a good amount of exercises. Some of them are quite good. They vary in difficulty and level of abstraction. Some are straghtforward applications of concepts just learned, others are generalizations of things in the text (these can be quite fun as they can be open ended). Of the ones I have attempted I have learned quite a bit.
* With the exception of some of the MSSM stuff, but this is clearly stated, and totally reasonable.
** But alas, for a beginning student, this is the nature of the subject.
***There is one fantastic supplement to Weinberg (after you've gone through the first couple of intro chapters), these are Argyres' notes. They nicely cover Seiberg duality which Weinberg doesn't talk about (but he does a great job with Seiberg-Witten).
**** The meat of the book can be covered in < 2.5 months by a dedicated student (skipping the SUGRA chapter).
 Defective Hard Cover January 3, 2007
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
The whole current production run of this book has a defect. A glue is bleeding through on the inside of the hard cover fold, front and back. This does not seem to affect the structural quality of the book and is not visible from the outside. If you need this book and get it with this defect, don't bother trying to exchange it.
Once again, great book March 25, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Finding good introductions to supersymmetry can be difficult. Most introductions concentrate on N=1 supersymmetry in four dimensions, and there the superfield forumlation can be useful. However, when you go to N=2 supersymmetry (e.g. when considering theories in five or more dimensions), component fields can be better. Many times it's a matter of taste. For those cases, you have to go to review articles. Anyway, Weinberg concentrates on N=1 4D supersymmetry and supergravity using the superfield formalism. However, he ventures into the N=2 strong-weak coupling results of Seiberg and Witten, which are now a fundamental part of (supersymmetric) field theory. The text is, as the previous volumes are, a fantastic resource for learning the subject, and as a reference (for things like gravity- and gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, as well as the minimal supersymmetric standard model, which are open areas of reserach). As for all modern areas of research, the body of knowledge is stacked higher every year; but the topics covered here stand as solid fundamentals of supersymmetry. For more advanced topics, one is forced to go to the recent literature.
A self-contained treatment of the subject April 20, 2000
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
If the two first volumes of "The Quantum Theory of Fields" were considered masterpieces in a modern and original presentation of the basics of quantum field theory and its penetration in the recent development of particle physics, with the machinery of spontaneously broken gauge theories, the new volume embraces the wide subject of supersymmetry in Weinberg's typical style, which always means a self-contained treatment of the subject, from its foundations and motivations, to its most recent application as a possible scenario for new physics beyond the Standard Model.A complete review is published in CERN Courier, May 2000
Weinberg Keeps the level! April 7, 2000
11 out of 30 found this review helpful
Great book, contains a lot of material, will be useful to many as a reference on supersymmetry for years to come. Highly Recommended!
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