A Guide to Feynman Diagrams in the Many-Body Problem (Dover Books on Physics and Chemistry)

The use of mnemonics, pictures, and hand-waving arguments may be frowned upon by some, but as long as their use is supported by solid science, their didactic power is formidable. Arguments by analogy, and by appeals to common-sense objects are of great utility in explaining the intricacies of a subject as abtruse as quantum field theory. The author for example uses a pin-ball game, with its many scatterings, as a tool for introducing the quantum propagator, even though paths of a (classical) pin-ball are not really meaningful in the quantum realm. Once done though, he proceeds to derive the perturbation series, and as an example computes the energy and lifetime of an electron in an impure metal.

The concept of a quasi-particle is exploited fully in this book to illustrate just how one can do calculations in quantum many-body theory. The reader will find ample discussion of Dyson's equation, the random phase approximation, phase transitions in Fermi systems, the Kondo problem, and the renormalization group in this book.

Happy reading.....(and teaching).....


Excellent, but maybe not enough   February 9, 2001
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is indeed an excellent book. Witty and insightful, but sometimes the ease, with which you're lead through it, is in the way of stressing the really important stuff. If you are learning diagrams for the first time, and intend to do some serious research using the technique, I believe this book is just not enough: it will leave you unprepared to do much beyond the problems in the book. You might want to consult a more rigorous book, like that of Abrikosov et al., but the style may be a bit of a shock to those not used to the Russian "condensed writing". As an introduction that is less painful, and more of a textbook, I suggest Fetter and Walecka's book, though it's out of print.


Well, not all that introductory ...   July 8, 2000
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

It is really a very good book, and even if I agree with the definition of "pedagogical jewel" given to the quantum pinball example, I would not define this textbook an introductory one, even if a non-specialist can read it without many difficulties. I read it several years after my studies, and it represented to me a good and amusing opportunity to refresh or to learn subjects I didn't remember any more or I didn't meet in university course. And taking into account its low price, it is really worth purchasing this book.


A perfect introduction to statistical physics   May 10, 1998
 12 out of 15 found this review helpful

This is the best book I found about Statistical Physics at an introductory level. It is a kind of book you can read almost as a novel, with a lot of examples and very clear. It is definitely the most pedagogical book about Statistical Physics ever.