We address some problems related to teaching Quantum Field Theory (QFT) at the university level. After a discussion of the pros and cons of the canonical quantization approach, we present an alternative teaching proposal. The novelty of this approach rests on the idea of using a multilevel structure, where the levels of phenomenology, formalism and interpretation are related but distinguishable. In this context, the quantization of the electromagnetic field, which is taken as a paradigmatic case in the standard approach, is addressed as a special case and studied only in the last step.
Words and Formulas in Quantum Field Theory: Disentangling and Reassembling the Basic Concepts for Teaching / Bertozzi E.; Ercolessi E.; Levrini O.. - In: PHYSICS ESSAYS. - ISSN 0836-1398. - STAMPA. - 26:3(2013), pp. 371-379. [10.4006/0836-1398-26.3.371]
Words and Formulas in Quantum Field Theory: Disentangling and Reassembling the Basic Concepts for Teaching
BERTOZZI, EUGENIO;ERCOLESSI, ELISA;LEVRINI, OLIVIA
2013
Abstract
We address some problems related to teaching Quantum Field Theory (QFT) at the university level. After a discussion of the pros and cons of the canonical quantization approach, we present an alternative teaching proposal. The novelty of this approach rests on the idea of using a multilevel structure, where the levels of phenomenology, formalism and interpretation are related but distinguishable. In this context, the quantization of the electromagnetic field, which is taken as a paradigmatic case in the standard approach, is addressed as a special case and studied only in the last step.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.