Symmetries in fundamental physics Kurt Sundermeyer

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sundermeyer, Kurt, 1943- author.

Series:

Fundamental theories of physics volume 176

Fundamental theories of physics v. 176

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Symmetry (Physics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

Second edition

Place of Publication:

Cham Springer [2014]

Summary:

Over the course of the last century it has become clear that both elementary particle physics and relativity theories are based on the notion of symmetries. These symmetries become manifest in that the "laws of nature" are invariant under spacetime transformations and/or gauge transformations. The consequences of these symmetries were analyzed as early as in 1918 by Emmy Noether on the level of action functionals. Her work did not receive due recognition for nearly half a century, but can today be understood as a recurring theme in classical mechanics, electrodynamics and special relativity, Yang-Mills type quantum field theories, and in general relativity. As a matter of fact, as shown in this monograph, many aspects of physics can be derived solely from symmetry considerations. This substantiates the statement of E.P. Wigner " ... if we knew all the laws of nature, or the ultimate Law of nature, the invariance properties of these laws would not furnish us new information." Thanks to Wigner we now also understand the implications of quantum physics and symmetry considerations: Poincare invariance dictates both the characteristic properties of particles (mass, spin ...) and the wave equations of spin 0, 1/2, 1 ... objects. Further, the work of C.N. Yang and R. Mills reveals the consequences of internal symmetries as exemplified in the symmetry group of elementary particle physics. Given this pivotal role of symmetries it is thus not surprising that current research in fundamental physics is to a great degree motivated and inspired by considerations of symmetry. The treatment of symmetries in this monograph ranges from classical physics to now well-established theories of fundamental interactions, to the latest research on unified theories and quantum gravity

Contents:

Preface

Notation

Introduction

Symmetry: Argument, Principle, and Leitmotif

Operations and Invariants

"Symmetries" in "Fundamental Physics"

The Scope of Symmetries

Bibliographical Notes

Classical Mechanics

Newtonian and Analytical Mechanics

Symmetries and Conservation Laws

Galilei Group

Electrodynamics and Special Relativity

Electrodynamics à la Maxwell

Special Relativity

Noether Theorems

Poincaré Transformations

Generalizations of Poincaré Symmetry

On the Validity of Special Relativity

Quantum Mechanics

Principles of Quantum Mechanics

Symmetry Transformations in Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Physics and Group Representation

Relativistic Field Theory

Representations of the Poincaré Group

Symmetry and Quantum Field Theory

Actions

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

Discrete Symmetries

Effective field theories

Particle Physics

Particles and Interactions

Strong Interactions

Weak and Electromagnetic Interaction

Paralipomena on the Standard Model

General Relativity and Gravitation

Introductory Remarks

Equivalence Principle

Riemann-Cartan Geometry

Physics in Curved Spacetime

Geometrodynamics

Modifications and Extensions of/to General Relativity

Unified Field Theories

Grand Unified Theories

Kaluza-Klein Theory

Supersymmetry

Further Speculations

Conclusion

Symmetries: The Road to Reality

Are Symmetries a Principle of Nature?

Physics Beyond Symmetries

Appendices

A Group Theory

B Spinors, Z2-gradings, and Supergeometry

C Symmetries and Constrained Dynamics

D Symmetries in Path-Integral and BRST Quantization

E Differential Geometry

F Symmetries in Terms of Differential Forms

Bibliography

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed August 4, 2014)

Other Format:

Print version Sundermeyer, Kurt, 1943- Symmetries in fundamental physics.

ISBN:

9783319065816

3319065815

3319065807

9783319065809

OCLC:

885195551

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license