An Introduction to the Standard Model

Abstract

The theory of fundamental particles and their non-gravitational interactions is encapsulated by an extremely successful quantum field theory known as the Standard Model. This quantum field theory is determined by a particular set of quantum fields and a particular Hamiltonian, which we will outline in this chapter. It is an interacting quantum field theory, not solvable by the methods we have seen so far. In the non-interacting approximation, it includes just the sorts of free quantum field theories that we have studied in earlier chapters. This chapter gives only a very brief sketch of the definition of the theory; for details, one needs to consult a conventional particle physics textbook.