Includes bibliographical references and index.

This book deals with quantum field theory, the language of modern elementary particles physics. Based on university lectures given by the author, this volume provides a detailed technical treatment of quantum field theory that is particularly useful for students; it begins with the quantization of the most important free fields, the scalar, the spin-1/2 and the photon fields, and is then followed by a detailed account of symmetry properties, including a discussion on global and local symmetries and the spontaneous breaking of symmetries. Perturbation theory, one-loop effects for quantum electrodynamics, and renormalization properties are also covered. In this second edition new chapters have been introduced with a general description of path integral quantization both on quantum mechanics and in quantum field theory, with a particular attention to the gauge fields. The path integral quantization of Fermi fields is also discussed.