Applications of chiral perturbation theory

Effective field theory techniques are used to describe the spectrum and interactions of hadrons. The mathematics of classical field theory and perturbative quantum field theory are reviewed. The physics of effective field theory and, in particular, of chiral perturbation theory and heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory are also reviewed. The geometry underlying heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory is described in detail. Results by Coleman et. al. in the physics literature are stated precisely and proven. A chiral perturbation theory is developed for a multiplet containing the recently-observed exotic baryons. A small coupling expansion is identified that allows the calculation of self-energy corrections to the exotic baryon masses. Opportunities in lattice calculations are discussed. Chiral perturbation theory is used to study the possibility of two multiplets of exotic baryons mixed by quark masses. A new symmetry constraint on reduced partial widths is identified. Predictions in the literature based on models are compared in the framework of chiral perturbation theory. Constraints on the models are developed.