QUANTUM THEORY OF FIELDS

A prominent figure of twentieth-century physics, Gregor Wentzel made major contributions to the development of quantum field theory. His introductory volume, Quantum Theory of Fields, offers a knowledgeable view of the original literature of elementary quantum mechanics. The text opens with an examination of general principles, without specification of the field equations of the Lagrange function. The following chapters deal with particular field types that by means of quantization are associated with particles of various spin, charge, and mass values. Topics include scalar fields, the vector meson field, quantum electrodynamics, and the quantization of the electron wave field according to the exclusion principle.