Publisher's Synopsis
The material contained in this work concerns relativistic quantum mechanics, and as such pertains to classical fields. On the one hand it is meant to serve as a text on the subject, a desire stemming from the author's fruitless searches for an adequate, up-to-date reference when lecturing on these topics. At times the supplementary material was found to exceed by far that in the assigned text. On the other hand, there is some flavor of a monograph to what follows, most particularly in the later chapters, for a major goal is to demonstrate just how far we can advance our understanding of the behavior of stable particles and their interactions without introducing quantized fields. Those wishing to describe the world in this way may view the result as a point of departure, despite the fact that their wish remains unfulfilled. Confirmed quantum-field theorists, however, will doubtless view it as a summary of just why they feel compelled to quantize the fields. Approximately half the book is devoted to the single-particle Dirac equation and its solutions. A great deal of detail is provided in this respect, and the discus- sion is reasonably comprehensive. The Dirac equation is extraordinarily important in its own right, particularly as a basis for quantum electrodynamics (QED), and is thus worthy of extensive study.
