Han M.-Y. From Photons to Higgs: A Story of Light

2nd Edition. – World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2014. – 142 p. – ISBN: 9814579955This book presents a brief introduction to the quantum field theory of the Standard Model for quarks and leptons. With minimal use of mathematics, it covers the basics of quantum field theory, local gauge field theory, spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism, the Higgs mechanism and quantum chromodynamics.
From the time when the first edition was published until today, the field of particle physics has seen some major break-through with the possible discovery of Higgs particle, also known as the Higgs boson. In the second edition, the famous Higgs mechanism is included to explain the symmetry breaking in the Standard Model and the origin of mass, and all of this is explained in high-school level algebra.
Aimed at both scientists and non-specialists, it requires only some rudimentary knowledge of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation of Newtonian mechanics as well as a basic understanding of the special theory of relativity and quantum mechanics to enjoy this book.
Readership: Students, researchers, academics and non-specialists interested in quantum field theory.Particles and Fields I: Dichotomy
Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Dynamics
Canonical Quantization
Particles and Fields II: Duality
Equations for Duality
Electromagnetic Field
Emulation of Light I: Matter Fields
Road Map for Field Quantization
Particles and Fields III: Particles as Quanta of Fields
Emulation of Light II: Interactions
Triumph and Wane
Leptons and Quarks
What is Gauge Field Theory?
The Weak Gauge Fields
The Higgs Mechanism and the Electroweak Gauge Fields
The Higgs Particle
Evolution of the Strong Force
The History of Color SU(3) Symmetry
Quantum Chromodynamics, QCD
Appendixes
The Natural Unit System
Notation
Velocity-Dependent Potential
Fourier Decomposition of Field
Mass Units for Particles
Mass-Range Relation