Trying to Prepare for Quantum Field Theory

Path integrals or second quantization, choose your adventure.

[AustinShoeman]

One day I’ll be able to understand what he’s saying, one day...

[finthechat]

i dream about path integrals and when i wake its all canonical

[PrettyMuchPhysics]

Zee's QFT in a Nutshell really opened my eyes for path integrals, just reading chapter I.2 and you're comfortable with path integrals 👍

[harrisonhutton]

I just started learning about integrals this past Wednesday and your video on tabular integration has helped me a lot. Thank you, Andrew. Keep doing what you do!

[Swetlana]

I took two courses on QFT. The first one taught us the canonical method and second one was more path integrals.

[fermibubbles]

"everything is in terms of classical things somehow" lmao

[rafaelmacedo]

I think most of research done in these days are done in path integral approach, as generating functionals are a great tool to deal with interactions. (I work on statistical field theory applications, so there is some bias as finite temp. QFT is defined as a complicated path integral ).

Although I think that people working directly on S-Matrix amplitudes maybe still uses second quantization procedures... idk particle physicists are strange

[ゾカリクゾ]

Honestly I prefer the Hamiltonian formalism (I think that is the canonical thing) because I feel it gives you more insight than the Lagrangian formalism. Both predict the same, and are somewhat equivalent, but for example eigenstates and eigenvalues, all that good stuff, is easily discovered or defined using the Hamiltonian formalism. The Lagrangian formalism gives us the propagator, so actually it does solve the problem, but with no apparent reasoning (at least from my point of view). It does, however, amaze me how summing over all paths can result in the same theory that the Hamiltonian formalism provides. It amazes me as well, how much (at least non-relativistic) quantum mechanics resembles or uses classical concepts.

[lukesaunders]

If you want a quick but more formal recap use David Tong’s Cambridge Part III notes, plenty of U.K. lecturers simply use his notes instead of writing their own. Don’t go straight for path integrals, asides from the fact that mathematically it’s rubbish, you should get the canonical stuff down first.

[kapoioBCS]

Path integral - Wilson loop quantization and BRST quantization are the modern way of doing QFTs

[alicewyan]

My QFT course was focused on path integral and renormalisation, I really like the path integral mechanism for its elegance and power, but second quantisation gives you a bit more of an understanding of what's going on under the hood for a start. Plus, after a while I'd still bump into research problems where using canonical quantisation was still an easier option for a step in a paper or something, and I wish I'd had a bit more of it while in class :)

[commaspace]

Also, Andrew I'm fairly sure that the path integral approach will give you more longevity, especially in research.

[masteroogway]

I'm an ap physics 1 boi, no im not lost, physics is just kool so I watch your videos

[JArmandoValle]

your hair is starting to grow like a crazy physics major, good luck andrew!

[asaadhadi]

I heard Zee's QFT Nutshell has a nice discussion of the path integral.

[ianbusch]

One day I'll like to learn/understand both approaches to QFT. Hopefully by next year I'll be taking my Quantum Mechanics courses. Keep up the great work Andrew and good luck on the qualifier exam.

[JaxzanProditor]

A video on what canonical quantization and path integrals are might be helpful in answering that question... :P

[duncanw]

Best conversation starter:
Are you a path integral or cannonical boi/grill

[Theo]

I’d highly recommend first tome of Weinberg’s QFT. As good as Schwartz is, Weinberg reveals a lot of fundamental subjects in QFT.

[chymoney]

When you finally learn how to quantize a field you better make a how to video