Genesis of Feynman Diagrams

• Contents.- Acknowledgements.- 1. Origin, use and interpretation of Feynman diagrams.- 2. Quantum electrodynamics without Feynman diagrams.- 3. Quantum mechanics without a Hamiltonian operator.- 4. The Dirac equation: Feynman’s great struggle.- 5. Free propagation and successive scattering.- 6. The held theoretical systematization of Feynman’s theory.- 7. The development of a new means of representation.- Appendix A Diagrammatic induction.- Appendix B Synopsis of manuscripts and principal publications.- List of figures.- Bibliography.

From the reviews: Wuethrich delves into the creative thinking of Richard Feynman and takes the reader on an exciting tour that leads from the early, groping attempts to understand quantum electrodynamics using inadequate graphical representations to the powerful diagrams that bear Feynman's name. Guided by Wuethrich's reconstruction of this path, we develop a deeper understanding of why the Feynman diagrams are what they are: they mediate and represent a deep conceptual change that was brought about by modern QED. Wuethrich's approach to a better understanding of the core concepts of QED by focussing on the emergence of its key representational tool is a masterful combination of historical reconstruction and conceptual analysis.Tilman Sauer, Einstein Papers Project, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, "With the five central chapters aimed at proving that there is more to Feynman diagrams than meets the eye ... the two framing chapters give a non-technical overview and summary, and are thus the most interesting to a general reader with no desire to engage with the mathematical formalism. ... Anybody interested ... will benefit greatly from this thorough analysis not just of the genesis of but also of the conceptual transformation wrought by Feynman diagrams." (Alexander Blum, Philosophy in Review, Vol. XXXII (1), 2012) "The topic of this book is how diagrammatic techniques (now known as Feynman diagrams) emerged in the work of R. P. Feynman in the post-war years 1945-1950. ... this book is of interest for readers working in the domain of history of science and specialising in the historical development of quantum field theory." (Stefan Weinzierl, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2012 j) "The aim of this book is to reconstruct the route that led Feynman, between approximately 1946 and 1948, to devise his new methods of diagrams and to evaluate what was achieved. ... The book is highly readable for physicists as well as for philosophers of physics and physics-oriented mathematicians." (Hirokazu Nishimura, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1226, 2012) "Richard Feynman developed the 'diagrams' of Adrian Wuthrich's title during the years 1947-1948. ... The book's first chapter is a review of various interpretations of the diagrams. ... This book is an interesting and worthwhile contribution to the history of Feynman's seminal contributions to QED." (Laurie M. Brown, Metascience, Vol. 21, 2012)