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  Modern Physics  >    Quantum Physics  >    Quantum Field Theory  >    General Quantum Field Theory  v 
  Physics Contributors  >    Motta  v 



Feynman Diagram
    

This entry contributed by Leonardo Motta

In order to visualize and describe quantum electrodynamical interactions, physicist Richard P. Feynman introduced an ingenious schematic form of drawing now called a Feynman diagram. In such a diagram, all particles are represented by lines, with straight lines representing fermions and wavy lines representing bosons (except for the Higgs boson, which is usually represented by a dashed line, and gluons, which are usually represented by loops).

The diagram illustrated above represents the interaction of two electrons. Each electron is represented by a straight line, which exchange a (virtual) photon and then repel one other.

Fine Structure Constant, Quantum Electrodynamics


References

Berestetskii, V. B.; Lifschitz, E. M.; and Pitaevskii, L. P. Quantum Electrodynamics, 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press, 1982.

Feynman, R. P. "Space-Time Approaches to Quantum Electrodynamics." Phys. Rev. 76, 769-789, 1949.

Feynman, R. P. QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985.

Griffiths, D. Introduction to Elementary Particles. New York: Wiley, 1987.

Johnson, G. W. and Lapidus, M. L. The Feynman Integral and Feynman's Operational Calculus. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Kane, G. The Particle Garden. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, p. 169, 1995.

Mattuck, R. D. A Guide to Feynman Diagrams in the Many-Body Problem, 2nd ed. New York: Dover, 1992.

Weisstein, E. W. "Books about Feyman Diagrams." http://www.ericweisstein.com/encyclopedias/books/FeynmanDiagrams.html.


© Eric W. Weisstein



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