Physics through symmetries / S.G. Rajeev.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rajeev, S. G. (Sarada G.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Group theory--Applications in physics.

Group theory.

Quantum theory--Mathematical models.

Quantum theory.

Symmetry (Physics).

Lie groups--Applications in physics.

Lie groups.

Field theory (Physics).

Genre:

Textbooks.

Physical Description:

xii, 321 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New Jersey : World Scientific, [2026]

Summary:

Publisher description: "Group Theory has been an essential tool of theoretical physics for about a century. During the early days of quantum theory, it was useful to formulate symmetries of systems and to solve for their spectra. Later it was found, in the standard model, that certain groups determine the fundamental interactions of elementary particle. It is not possible to understand modern theoretical physics without knowing group theory. This book is an introduction to group theoretical ideas that arise in classical or quantum mechanics as well as Field theory. The emphasis is on concepts, although some calculations are done in detail. The intended audience is a graduate student who has already learned mechanics, quantum mechanics as well as some Field theory (e.g., Maxwell equations in their relativistic form). Among the topics covered are the rotation group and its representations; group extensions and their relevance to spinors; the Lorentz group and relativistic wave equations; the gaussian unitary ensemble of random matrices; the quark model; the Peter-Weyl theorem for Finite groups as well as compact Lie groups. There are hints that future physics will need symmetries that go beyond the idea of a group. An introduction to such 'quantum groups' is included as well. The book concludes with a study of a class of mechanical systems (Euler-Arnold) which include the rigid body and the ideal fluids as examples. Some toy models that are one step away from being exactly solvable are studied as examples of chaos." Generated by AI

Notes:

Part of the metadata in this record was created with the help of AI Metadata Assistant

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9789819812882

9819812887

OCLC:

1564125848

Publisher Number:

90104113340