Differential Geometry, Gauge Theories, and Gravity


Book Description

Cambridge University Press is committed to keeping scholarly work in print for as long as possible. A short print-run of this academic paperback has been produced using digital technology. This technology has enabled Cambridge to keep the book in print for specialists and students when traditional methods of reprinting would not have been feasible. While the new digital cover differs from the original, the text content is identical to that of previous printings.




Modern Differential Geometry in Gauge Theories


Book Description

This is original, well-written work of interest Presents for the first time (physical) field theories written in sheaf-theoretic language Contains a wealth of minutely detailed, rigorous computations, ususally absent from standard physical treatments Author's mastery of the subject and the rigorous treatment of this text make it invaluable




Mathematical Gauge Theory


Book Description

The Standard Model is the foundation of modern particle and high energy physics. This book explains the mathematical background behind the Standard Model, translating ideas from physics into a mathematical language and vice versa. The first part of the book covers the mathematical theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, fibre bundles, connections, curvature and spinors. The second part then gives a detailed exposition of how these concepts are applied in physics, concerning topics such as the Lagrangians of gauge and matter fields, spontaneous symmetry breaking, the Higgs boson and mass generation of gauge bosons and fermions. The book also contains a chapter on advanced and modern topics in particle physics, such as neutrino masses, CP violation and Grand Unification. This carefully written textbook is aimed at graduate students of mathematics and physics. It contains numerous examples and more than 150 exercises, making it suitable for self-study and use alongside lecture courses. Only a basic knowledge of differentiable manifolds and special relativity is required, summarized in the appendix.




Gauge Field Theory and Complex Geometry


Book Description

From the reviews: "... focused mainly on complex differential geometry and holomorphic bundle theory. This is a powerful book, written by a very distinguished contributor to the field" (Contemporary Physics )"the book provides a large amount of background for current research across a spectrum of field. ... requires effort to read but it is worthwhile and rewarding" (New Zealand Math. Soc. Newsletter) " The contents are highly technical and the pace of the exposition is quite fast. Manin is an outstanding mathematician, and writer as well, perfectly at ease in the most abstract and complex situation. With such a guide the reader will be generously rewarded!" (Physicalia) This new edition includes an Appendix on developments of the last 10 years, by S. Merkulov.




Gauge Theories and Differential Geometry


Book Description

This book revisits the mathematical foundations of thermodynamics and gauge theory by using new differential geometric methods coming from the formal theory of systems of partial differential equations and Lie pseudogroups. The gauge theory of gravity is also established, in which spinorial and ventorial matter fields serve as gravitating sources. The potential applications of the present gauge theory of gravity, including quantum-vacuum-energy gravity, cosmological constant problem and gravity-gauge unification is also addressed. The third chapter focuses on a gravitational gauge theory with spin connection and vierbein as fundamental variables of gravity. Next, the place and physical significance of Poincaré gauge theory of gravity (PGTG) in the framework of gauge approach to gravitation is discussed. A cutoff regularization method in gauge theory is discussed in Chapter Five. The remaining chapters in the book focus on differential geometry, in particular, the authors show how fractional differential derived from fractional difference provides a basis to expand a theory of fractional differential geometry which would apply to non-differentiable manifolds; a review of the infinitesimal Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff formula is provided and the book concludes with a short communication where the authors focus on local stability, and describe how this leads naturally into the question of finite-time singularities and generalized soliton solutions.




Gauge Theory and Variational Principles


Book Description

This text provides a framework for describing and organizing the basic forces of nature and the interactions of subatomic particles. A detailed and self-contained mathematical account of gauge theory, it is geared toward beginning graduate students and advanced undergraduates in mathematics and physics. This well-organized treatment supplements its rigor with intuitive ideas. Starting with an examination of principal fiber bundles and connections, the text explores curvature; particle fields, Lagrangians, and gauge invariance; Lagrange's equation for particle fields; and the inhomogeneous field equation. Additional topics include free Dirac electron fields; interactions; calculus on frame bundle; and unification of gauge fields and gravitation. The text concludes with references, a selected bibliography, an index of notation, and a general index.




Finsler Geometry, Relativity and Gauge Theories


Book Description

The methods of differential geometry have been so completely merged nowadays with physical concepts that general relativity may well be considered to be a physical theory of the geometrical properties of space-time. The general relativity principles together with the recent development of Finsler geometry as a metric generalization of Riemannian geometry justify the attempt to systematize the basic techniques for extending general relativity on the basis of Finsler geometry. It is this endeavour that forms the subject matter of the present book. Our exposition reveals the remarkable fact that the Finslerian approach is automatically permeated with the idea of the unification of the geometrical space-time picture with gauge field theory - a circumstance that we try our best to elucidate in this book. The book has been written in such a way that the reader acquainted with the methods of tensor calculus and linear algebra at the graduate level can use it as a manual of Finslerian techniques orientable to applications in several fields. The problems attached to the chapters are also intended to serve this purpose. This notwithstanding, whenever we touch upon the Finslerian refinement or generalization of physical concepts, we assume that the reader is acquainted with these concepts at least at the level of the standard textbooks, to which we refer him or her.




Differential Geometry and Mathematical Physics


Book Description

Starting from an undergraduate level, this book systematically develops the basics of • Calculus on manifolds, vector bundles, vector fields and differential forms, • Lie groups and Lie group actions, • Linear symplectic algebra and symplectic geometry, • Hamiltonian systems, symmetries and reduction, integrable systems and Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The topics listed under the first item are relevant for virtually all areas of mathematical physics. The second and third items constitute the link between abstract calculus and the theory of Hamiltonian systems. The last item provides an introduction to various aspects of this theory, including Morse families, the Maslov class and caustics. The book guides the reader from elementary differential geometry to advanced topics in the theory of Hamiltonian systems with the aim of making current research literature accessible. The style is that of a mathematical textbook,with full proofs given in the text or as exercises. The material is illustrated by numerous detailed examples, some of which are taken up several times for demonstrating how the methods evolve and interact.




Group Structure of Gauge Theories


Book Description

The first portion of the text is devoted to a review of those aspects of Lie groups necessary for the application of group theory to the physics of particles and fields. The second describes the way in which compact Lie groups are used to construct gauge theories.




Differential Geometry and Lie Groups for Physicists


Book Description

Covering subjects including manifolds, tensor fields, spinors, and differential forms, this textbook introduces geometrical topics useful in modern theoretical physics and mathematics. It develops understanding through over 1000 short exercises, and is suitable for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in physics, mathematics and engineering.