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We introduce tensor products, which are the appropriate tool to construct the state space for systems that can be decomposed into non-interacting simpler components. The boson Fock space, built from such tensor products, is the appropriate state space to describe collections of any number of identical bosons. The annihilation and creation operators act on this Fock space. We then introduce the idea of quantum fields, which are operator-valued distributions, not trying yet to incorporate ideas from special relativity, and we argue that these quantum fields can be viewed as a quantized version of certain spaces of functions.
The physicist’s counter-term method enriches the class of possible diagrams by adding new types of vertices. We explain in simple cases how this method can be used to re-parameterize a theory, and how the physicists use it to tame the diverging integrals by having “the counter terms cancel the divergences”. Assuming that the BPHZ method succeeds in producing finite results for the scattering amplitudes, we prove that the counter-term method succeeds too.
Quantum field theory (QFT) is one of the great achievements of physics, of profound interest to mathematicians. Most pedagogical texts on QFT are geared toward budding professional physicists, however, whereas mathematical accounts are abstract and difficult to relate to the physics. This book bridges the gap. While the treatment is rigorous whenever possible, the accent is not on formality but on explaining what the physicists do and why, using precise mathematical language. In particular, it covers in detail the mysterious procedure of renormalization. Written for readers with a mathematical background but no previous knowledge of physics and largely self-contained, it presents both basic physical ideas from special relativity and quantum mechanics and advanced mathematical concepts in complete detail. It will be of interest to mathematicians wanting to learn about QFT and, with nearly 300 exercises, also to physics students seeking greater rigor than they typically find in their courses. Erratum for the book can be found at michel.talagrand.net/erratum.pdf.