The magic of Feynman's QED: from field-less electrodynamics to the Feynman diagrams

摘要

For some time, even after the Feynman diagrams and rules were publicly known, the foundations of Feynman's quantum electrodynamics remained mostly private. Its stupendous efficiency then appeared like magic to most of his competitors. The purpose of this essay is to reveal the hidden contrivances of this magic, in a journey from field-less electrodynamics to the Feynman diagrams.