Quantum Field Theory: Competitive Models

For more than 70 years, quantum field theory (QFT) can be seen as a driving force in the development of theoretical physics. Equally fascinating is the fruitful impact which QFT had in rather remote areas of mathematics. The present book features some of the different approaches, different physically viewpoints and techniques used to make the notion of quantum field theory more precise. For example, the present book contains a discussion including general considerations, stochastic methods, deformation theory and the holographic AdS/CFT correspondence. It also contains a discussion of more recent developments like the use of category theory and topos theoretic methods to describe QFT. The present volume emerged from the 3rd 'Blaubeuren Workshop: Recent Developments in Quantum Field Theory', held in July 2007 at the Max Planck Institute of Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig/Germany. All of the contributions are committed to the idea of this workshop series: 'To bring together outstanding experts working in the field of mathematics and physics to discuss in an open atmosphere the fundamental questions at the frontier of theoretical physics'.