Abstract

In this paper I detail three major mathematical developments that led to the emergence of Yang–Mills theories as the foundation for the standard model of particle physics. In less than 10 years, work on renormalizability, the renormalization group, and lattice quantum field theory highlighted the utility of Yang–Mills type models of quantum field theory by connecting poorly understood candidate dynamical models to emerging experimental results. I use this historical case study to provide lessons for theory construction in physics, and touch on issues related to renormalization group realism from a more historical perspective. In particular, I highlight the fact that much of the hard work in theory construction comes when trying to understand the consequences and representational capacities of a theoretical framework.