I went to college a long time ago. Since then the LHC verified the higgs boson. The higgs field and the higgs bubbles that separated quarks from antiquarks is something I’ve been looking at.
However I never took quantum mechanics and have little understanding of quantum fields. I would like to rectify that problem.
Can someone with knowledge give me a push in the right direction… What books to start with, are there online lectures?
Thank you
I’d really recommend going through the basics about learning QM. Specifically: classical mechanics, a very good stats & probability math course, calc prereqs, intro to QM, intro to thermal/stat physics, maybe an atomic course, intro chem course. I’m not sure of the exact steps, but as a physics undergrad major, it’ll “click” after a certain amount of prereqs and if you need any help, feel free to PM me and I’ll gladly be of assistance (as far as I can remember, at least).
It’s also really important to remember that QM is really a formalized algebra of probability/stats, so it’s really really important to get a good grasp of that. QFT and all that comes after understanding the basics. It’s a fuck ton of work, but I think it’s rewarding.
Thanks. I have a good understanding of calculus and physics. I did take statistics like 30 years ago so probably very fuzzy now. Any specialities to focus on before I get started in QM?
Nah, just the basics is fine. I would recommend Griffith’s and then moving on to Shankar.
If you remember linear algebra and know what’s a hilbert spaci, you`re good to go.
It’s a solid math foundation but any second year student in math/physics/mechanics get it