HEISENBERG, W. (WERNER) und W. (WOLFGANG) PAULI. - ESTABLISHING QUANTUM FIELD THEORY.

Zur Quantendynamik der Wellenfelder. (I-) II. (2 papers).

Berlin, Julius Springer, 1929 u. 1930. Bound in 2 contemp. uniform hcloth over marbled boards. A stamp to top of titlepages. Gilt lettering to spine. In: "Zeitschrift für Physik. Herausgegeben von Karl Scheel", 56. und 59. Band. VII,867 pp. u. VII,874 pp. (2 entire volumes offered). Heisenberg & Pauli's paper: pp. 1-61 a. pp. 168-190. Internally clean and fine.

First appearance of these two papers of seminal importence as Heisenberg and Pauli here laid the foundation , by using a new method, for the quantum field theory, and gave the "relativistic formulation of quantum electrodynamics in the presence off charges and currents"(Pais). They were the first to attempt a general formulation of quantum electrodynamics by setting up a general scheme for the quantization of fields which they hoped would be applicable to the Maxwell field.
In the papers they also introduced what is today called "gauge fixing", which from then on are among the precious tools of field theory.

"Heisenberg and Pauli thus established the basic structure of QFT which can be found in any introduction to QFT up to the present day" (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).

Order-nr.: 48182