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.




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.




Geometric Representation Theory and Gauge Theory


Book Description

This book offers a review of the vibrant areas of geometric representation theory and gauge theory, which are characterized by a merging of traditional techniques in representation theory with the use of powerful tools from algebraic geometry, and with strong inputs from physics. The notes are based on lectures delivered at the CIME school "Geometric Representation Theory and Gauge Theory" held in Cetraro, Italy, in June 2018. They comprise three contributions, due to Alexander Braverman and Michael Finkelberg, Andrei Negut, and Alexei Oblomkov, respectively. Braverman and Finkelberg’s notes review the mathematical theory of the Coulomb branch of 3D N=4 quantum gauge theories. The purpose of Negut’s notes is to study moduli spaces of sheaves on a surface, as well as Hecke correspondences between them. Oblomkov's notes concern matrix factorizations and knot homology. This book will appeal to both mathematicians and theoretical physicists and will be a source of inspiration for PhD students and researchers.







Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory


Book Description

This volume, based on lectures and short communications at a summer school in Villa de Leyva, Colombia (July 2005), offers an introduction to some recent developments in several active topics at the interface between geometry, topology and quantum field theory. It is aimed at graduate students in physics or mathematics who might want insight in the following topics (covered in five survey lectures): Anomalies and noncommutative geometry, Deformation quantisation and Poisson algebras, Topological quantum field theory and orbifolds. These lectures are followed by nine articles on various topics at the borderline of mathematics and physics ranging from quasicrystals to invariant instantons through black holes, and involving a number of mathematical tools borrowed from geometry, algebra and analysis.




Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics


Book Description

In recent years the methods of modern differential geometry have become of considerable importance in theoretical physics and have found application in relativity and cosmology, high-energy physics and field theory, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and mechanics. This textbook provides an introduction to these methods - in particular Lie derivatives, Lie groups and differential forms - and covers their extensive applications to theoretical physics. The reader is assumed to have some familiarity with advanced calculus, linear algebra and a little elementary operator theory. The advanced physics undergraduate should therefore find the presentation quite accessible. This account will prove valuable for those with backgrounds in physics and applied mathematics who desire an introduction to the subject. Having studied the book, the reader will be able to comprehend research papers that use this mathematics and follow more advanced pure-mathematical expositions.




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.




The Mathematical Foundations of Gauge Theories


Book Description

Theoretical physicists tend to discuss their theories in the language of mathematics. However, the adequate mathematical formulation may not yet be available when the physical law is first discovered. Mathematical physicists trying to develop the relevant mathematics for these theories, may obtain new insights into old mathematical structures or may even disclose entirely new structures. Gauge Theory is such a gift from physics to mathematics. This volume presents a self-contained development of a differential geometric formulation of gauge theories, in particular, the theory of Yang-Mills fields. theoretical physics and pure and applied mathematics who are acquainted with the elements of the theory of differential manifolds. It enables the reader to apply this theory to gauge theories and to understand the role of gauge theories in high energy physics, gravitation theory and electromagnetism.




Lattice Gauge Theories: An Introduction


Book Description

This book introduces a large number of topics in lattice gauge theories, including analytical as well as numerical methods. It provides young physicists with the theoretical background and basic computational tools in order to be able to follow the extensive literature on the subject, and to carry out research on their own. Whenever possible, the basic ideas and technical inputs are demonstrated in simple examples, so as to avoid diverting the readers' attention from the main line of thought. Sufficient technical details are however given so that he can fill in the remaining details with the help of the cited literature without too much effort.This volume is designed for graduate students in theoretical elementary particle physics or statistical mechanics with a basic knowledge in Quantum Field Theory.