Relativistic Quantum Field Theory III
The third term of MIT's quantum field theory sequence covers the theoretical machinery behind the Standard Model. Topics include quantum chromodynamics, the Higgs mechanism, deep-inelastic scattering and structure functions, basics of lattice gauge theory, operator product expansions and effective field theories, spontaneously broken gauge theory and its quantization, instantons and theta-vacua, topological defects, and an introduction to supersymmetry. The course is delivered through MIT OpenCourseWare as lecture notes and problem sets aimed at advanced graduate students who have completed the first two terms of the sequence. There is no instructor interaction or certificate, but the full set of materials is freely downloadable under a Creative Commons license, making it a dense, self-contained resource for anyone working through the theoretical foundations of particle physics on their own.