Quote: "In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics."
Applies the principles of QFT to the study of electromagnetic fields and the interactions of photons with charged particles.
Classical Electrodynamics: The theory of electromagnetism and how it relates to the behavior of electric and magnetic fields.
Quantum Mechanics: The fundamental theory of microscopic phenomena that underlies all physics, including QED.
Special Relativity: The theory of the properties of space and time in the absence of gravity, which is key to understanding QED.
Elementary Particles: An overview of the particles that make up matter and their properties, including the electron, photon, and positron.
Feynman Diagrams: A visual representation of the interactions between particles, crucial to understanding the calculations involved in QED.
Gauge Symmetry: The mathematical structure that requires the conservation of electric charge and governs the behavior of electromagnetic fields.
Renormalization: A technique used to handle infinities that arise in the calculations of QED, which is critical for making predictions that agree with experiments.
Radiative Corrections: Processes involving the emission and absorption of photons, which are important for understanding the behavior of atoms and molecules.
Scattering Processes: The study of how particles interact with each other, such as electron-electron scattering or electron-photon scattering.
Path Integrals: An alternate way to formulate quantum mechanics that is better suited for field theories like QED.
Quantum Field Theory: The general framework for studying quantum systems, a major branch of modern physics that underlies QED.
Quantum Electrodynamics: The specific theory of the interactions between electrons and photons, one of the most successful theories in all of physics.
Vacuum Polarization: The phenomenon that arises when the virtual particles of the vacuum interact with external electromagnetic fields.
Anomalies: A breakdown of certain symmetries in QED, which can lead to unexpected phenomena such as the chiral anomaly.
Perturbation Theory: A technique for solving physical problems by breaking them down into simpler components, and expanding in powers of a small parameter.
Standard Model QED: This is the most widely accepted version of QED which describes the interaction between electrons and photons, and their underlying quantum fields.
Non-Relativistic QED: This version of QED considers particles that move at non-relativistic speeds, and their corresponding quantum field theories.
Strong QED: Also known as Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), this version of QED takes into account the strong force that holds quarks together to form protons and neutrons.
Weak QED: This version of QED focuses on the interaction between particles that occur via the weak nuclear force, such as beta decay.
Schwinger's QED: This is a formulation of QED proposed by Julian Schwinger which uses the path integral method to calculate the probability of different particle interactions.
Feynman's QED: This is another formulation of QED proposed by Richard Feynman which uses Feynman diagrams to represent particle interactions.
Dyson's QED: This formulation of QED proposed by Freeman Dyson is based on the idea of "renormalization", which allows for the removal of infinities that appear in certain calculations.
Stochastic QED: This version of QED uses stochastic processes to describe the behavior of particles and their corresponding quantum fields.
Quote: "It describes how light and matter interact."
Quote: "It is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and special relativity is achieved."
Quote: "QED mathematically describes all phenomena involving electrically charged particles interacting by means of exchange of photons."
Quote: "It represents the quantum counterpart of classical electromagnetism."
Quote: "It gives a complete account of matter and light interaction."
Quote: "QED...described light and matter beyond the wave-particle duality proposed by Einstein in 1905."
Quote: "Richard Feynman called it 'the jewel of physics.'"
Quote: "Extremely accurate predictions of quantities like the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron and the Lamb shift of the energy levels of hydrogen."
Quote: "It describes how light and matter interact."
Quote: "QED mathematically describes all phenomena involving electrically charged particles interacting by means of exchange of photons."
Quote: "It represents the quantum counterpart of classical electromagnetism."
Quote: "It is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and special relativity is achieved."
Quote: "It gives a complete account of matter and light interaction."
Quote: "It described light and matter beyond the wave-particle duality proposed by Einstein in 1905."
Quote: "Richard Feynman called it 'the jewel of physics.'"
Quote: "Extremely accurate predictions of quantities like the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron and the Lamb shift of the energy levels of hydrogen."
Quote: "QED can be described as a very accurate way to calculate the probability of the position and movement of particles."
Quote: "QED can be described as a very accurate way to calculate...even those massless such as photons."
Quote: "The quantity depending on position (field) of those particles."