Introduction

This book offers a concise introduction to quantum field theory and functional integration for students of physics and mathematics. Its aim is to explain mathematical methods developed in the 1970s and 1980s and apply these methods to standard models of quantum field theory. In contrast to other textbooks on quantum field theory, this book treats functional integration as a rigorous mathematical tool. More emphasis is placed on the mathematical framework as opposed to applications to particle physics. It is stressed that the functional integral approach, unlike the operator framework, is suitable for numerical simulations. The book arose from the author''s teaching in Wroclaw and preserves the form of his lectures. So some topics are treated as an introduction to the problem rather than a complete solution with all details. Some of the mathematical methods described in the book resulted from the author''s own research.