In this Outline we give a brief description of each item listed in the Contents.While the Contents and Index are quick ways to search, or learn the general layout of the book, the Outline gives more detail for the uninitiated.
Relativistic quantum mechanics and classical field theory. Poincar´e group = special relativity. Enlarged spacetime symmetries: conformal and supersymmetry. Equations of motion and actions for particles and fields/wave functions. Internal symmetries: global (classifying particles), local (field interactions).
Quantum aspects of field theory. Perturbation theory: expansions in loops, helicity, and internal symmetry. Although some have conjectured that nonperturbative approaches might solve renormalization difficulties found in perturbation, all evidence indicates these problems worsen instead in complete theory.
General spins. Spin 2 must be included in any complete theory of nature. Higher spins are observed experimentally for bound states, but may be required also as fundamental fields.