Geometry and Quantum Features of Special Relativity

Geometry and Quantum Features of Special Relativity
Author: Norbert Dragon
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2024-11-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9783031711480

This second edition of "The Geometry of Special Relativity - a Concise Course" offers more than just corrections and enhancements. It includes a new chapter on four-velocities and boosts as points and straight lines of hyperbolic geometry. Quantum properties of relativistic particles are derived from the unitary representations of the Poincaré group. Notably, the massless representation is related to the concept of a Hopf bundle. Scattering theory is developed analogously to the non-relativistic case, relying on proper symmetry postulates. Chapters on quantum fields, reflections of charge, space, and time, and the necessary gauge symmetry of quantized vector fields complete the foundation for evaluating Feynman graphs. An extended appendix covers more than a dozen additional topics. The first half of this edition refines the first edition, using simple diagrams to explain time dilation, length contraction, and Lorentz transformations based on the invariance of the speed of light. The text derives key results of relativistic physics and resolves apparent paradoxes. Following a presentation of the action principle, Noether's theorem, and relativistic mechanics, the book covers the covariant formulation of electrodynamics and classical field theory. The groups of rotations and Lorentz transformations are also examined as a transition to relativistic quantum physics. This text is aimed at graduate students of physics and mathematics seeking an advanced introduction to special relativity and related topics. Its presentation of quantum physics aims to inspire fellow researchers.

The Geometry of Special Relativity

The Geometry of Special Relativity
Author: Tevian Dray
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2021-06-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1315160706

This unique book presents a particularly beautiful way of looking at special relativity. The author encourages students to see beyond the formulas to the deeper structure. The unification of space and time introduced by Einstein’s special theory of relativity is one of the cornerstones of the modern scientific description of the universe. Yet the unification is counterintuitive because we perceive time very differently from space. Even in relativity, time is not just another dimension, it is one with different properties The book treats the geometry of hyperbolas as the key to understanding special relativity. The author simplifies the formulas and emphasizes their geometric content. Many important relations, including the famous relativistic addition formula for velocities, then follow directly from the appropriate (hyperbolic) trigonometric addition formulas. Prior mastery of (ordinary) trigonometry is sufficient for most of the material presented, although occasional use is made of elementary differential calculus, and the chapter on electromagnetism assumes some more advanced knowledge. Changes to the Second Edition The treatment of Minkowski space and spacetime diagrams has been expanded. Several new topics have been added, including a geometric derivation of Lorentz transformations, a discussion of three-dimensional spacetime diagrams, and a brief geometric description of "area" and how it can be used to measure time and distance. Minor notational changes were made to avoid conflict with existing usage in the literature. Table of Contents Preface 1. Introduction. 2. The Physics of Special Relativity. 3. Circle Geometry. 4. Hyperbola Geometry. 5. The Geometry of Special Relativity. 6. Applications. 7. Problems III. 8. Paradoxes. 9. Relativistic Mechanics. 10. Problems II. 11. Relativistic Electromagnetism. 12. Problems III. 13. Beyond Special Relativity. 14. Three-Dimensional Spacetime Diagrams. 15. Minkowski Area via Light Boxes. 16. Hyperbolic Geometry. 17. Calculus. Bibliography. Author Biography Tevian Dray is a Professor of Mathematics at Oregon State University. His research lies at the interface between mathematics and physics, involving differential geometry and general relativity, as well as nonassociative algebra and particle physics; he also studies student understanding of "middle-division" mathematics and physics content. Educated at MIT and Berkeley, he held postdoctoral positions in both mathematics and physics in several countries prior to coming to OSU in 1988. Professor Dray is a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his work in relativity, and an award-winning teacher.

Energy and Geometry

Energy and Geometry
Author: Fabio Cardone
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2004
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9789812565372

Special Relativity (SR) is essentially grounded on the properties of space-time, i.e. isotropy of space and homogeneity of space and time (as a consequence of the equivalence of inertial frames) and on the Galilei principle of relativity.

A First Course on Symmetry, Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

A First Course on Symmetry, Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
Author: Gabor Kunstatter
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2020-10-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030554201

This book provides an in-depth and accessible description of special relativity and quantum mechanics which together form the foundation of 21st century physics. A novel aspect is that symmetry is given its rightful prominence as an integral part of this foundation. The book offers not only a conceptual understanding of symmetry, but also the mathematical tools necessary for quantitative analysis. As such, it provides a valuable precursor to more focused, advanced books on special relativity or quantum mechanics. Students are introduced to several topics not typically covered until much later in their education.These include space-time diagrams, the action principle, a proof of Noether's theorem, Lorentz vectors and tensors, symmetry breaking and general relativity. The book also provides extensive descriptions on topics of current general interest such as gravitational waves, cosmology, Bell's theorem, entanglement and quantum computing. Throughout the text, every opportunity is taken to emphasize the intimate connection between physics, symmetry and mathematics.The style remains light despite the rigorous and intensive content. The book is intended as a stand-alone or supplementary physics text for a one or two semester course for students who have completed an introductory calculus course and a first-year physics course that includes Newtonian mechanics and some electrostatics. Basic knowledge of linear algebra is useful but not essential, as all requisite mathematical background is provided either in the body of the text or in the Appendices. Interspersed through the text are well over a hundred worked examples and unsolved exercises for the student.

The Geometry of Special Relativity - a Concise Course

The Geometry of Special Relativity - a Concise Course
Author: Norbert Dragon
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642283292

In this concise primer it is shown that, with simple diagrams, the phenomena of time dilatation, length contraction and Lorentz transformations can be deduced from the fact that in a vacuum one cannot distinguish physically straight and uniform motion from rest, and that the speed of light does not depend on the speed of either the source or the observer. The text proceeds to derive the important results of relativistic physics and to resolve its apparent paradoxes. A short introduction into the covariant formulation of electrodynamics is also given. This publication addresses, in particular, students of physics and mathematics in their final undergraduate year.

Non-relativistic Quantum Theory: Dynamics, Symmetry And Geometry

Non-relativistic Quantum Theory: Dynamics, Symmetry And Geometry
Author: Kai S Lam
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2009-08-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9813107480

This textbook is mainly for physics students at the advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels, especially those with a theoretical inclination. Its chief purpose is to give a systematic introduction to the main ingredients of the fundamentals of quantum theory, with special emphasis on those aspects of group theory (spacetime and permutational symmetries and group representations) and differential geometry (geometrical phases, topological quantum numbers, and Chern-Simons Theory) that are relevant in modern developments of the subject. It will provide students with an overview of key elements of the theory, as well as a solid preparation in calculational techniques.

Principles of Quantum General Relativity

Principles of Quantum General Relativity
Author: Eduard Prugove?ki
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 380
Release: 1995
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789810221386

This monograph explains and analyzes the principles of a quantum-geometric framework for the unification of general relativity and quantum theory. By taking advantage of recent advances in areas like fibre and superfibre bundle theory, Krein spaces, gauge fields and groups, coherent states, etc., these principles can be consistently incorporated into a framework that can justifiably be said to provide the foundations for a quantum extrapolation of general relativity. This volume aims to present this approach in a way which places as much emphasis on fundamental physical ideas as on their precise mathematical implementation. References are also made to the ideas of Einstein, Bohr, Born, Dirac, Heisenberg and others, in order to set the work presented here in an appropriate historical context.

Analytic Hyperbolic Geometry And Albert Einstein's Special Theory Of Relativity

Analytic Hyperbolic Geometry And Albert Einstein's Special Theory Of Relativity
Author: Abraham Albert Ungar
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 649
Release: 2008-02-11
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9814474010

This book presents a powerful way to study Einstein's special theory of relativity and its underlying hyperbolic geometry in which analogies with classical results form the right tool. It introduces the notion of vectors into analytic hyperbolic geometry, where they are called gyrovectors.Newtonian velocity addition is the common vector addition, which is both commutative and associative. The resulting vector spaces, in turn, form the algebraic setting for the standard model of Euclidean geometry. In full analogy, Einsteinian velocity addition is a gyrovector addition, which is both gyrocommutative and gyroassociative. The resulting gyrovector spaces, in turn, form the algebraic setting for the Beltrami-Klein ball model of the hyperbolic geometry of Bolyai and Lobachevsky. Similarly, Möbius addition gives rise to gyrovector spaces that form the algebraic setting for the Poincaré ball model of hyperbolic geometry.In full analogy with classical results, the book presents a novel relativistic interpretation of stellar aberration in terms of relativistic gyrotrigonometry and gyrovector addition. Furthermore, the book presents, for the first time, the relativistic center of mass of an isolated system of noninteracting particles that coincided at some initial time t = 0. The novel relativistic resultant mass of the system, concentrated at the relativistic center of mass, dictates the validity of the dark matter and the dark energy that were introduced by cosmologists as ad hoc postulates to explain cosmological observations about missing gravitational force and late-time cosmic accelerated expansion.The discovery of the relativistic center of mass in this book thus demonstrates once again the usefulness of the study of Einstein's special theory of relativity in terms of its underlying analytic hyperbolic geometry.

The Geometry of Spacetime

The Geometry of Spacetime
Author: James J. Callahan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 463
Release: 2013-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781475767377

Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity as essentially a new geometric structure for spacetime. This book looks at the ideas of both Einstein and Minkowski, and then introduces the theory of frames, surfaces and intrinsic geometry, developing the main implications of Einstein's general relativity theory.

The Special Theory of Relativity

The Special Theory of Relativity
Author: Farook Rahaman
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2022-04-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811904979

This textbook expounds the major topics in the special theory of relativity. It provides a detailed examination of the mathematical foundation of the special theory of relativity, relativistic mass, relativistic mechanics, and relativistic electrodynamics. As well as covariant formulation of relativistic mechanics and electrodynamics, the text discusses the relativistic effect on photons. A new chapter on electromagnetic waves as well as several new problems and examples have been included in the second edition of the book. Using the mathematical approach, the text offers graduate students a clear, concise view of the special theory of relativity. Organized into 15 chapters and two appendices, the content is presented in a logical order, and every topic has been dealt with in a simple and lucid manner. To aid understanding of the subject, the text provides numerous relevant worked-out examples in every chapter. The mathematical approach of the text helps students in their independent study and motivates them to research the topic further.