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Circle Bundle
In mathematics, a circle bundle is a fiber bundle where the fiber is the circle S^1. Oriented circle bundles are also known as principal ''U''(1)-bundles. In physics, circle bundles are the natural geometric setting for electromagnetism. A circle bundle is a special case of a sphere bundle. As 3-manifolds Circle bundles over surfaces are an important example of 3-manifolds. A more general class of 3-manifolds is Seifert fiber spaces, which may be viewed as a kind of "singular" circle bundle, or as a circle bundle over a two-dimensional orbifold. Relationship to electrodynamics The Maxwell equations correspond to an electromagnetic field represented by a 2-form ''F'', with \pi^F being cohomologous to zero, i.e. exact. In particular, there always exists a 1-form ''A'', the electromagnetic four-potential, (equivalently, the affine connection) such that : \pi^F = dA. Given a circle bundle ''P'' over ''M'' and its projection :\pi:P\to M one has the homomorphism :\pi^*:H^2(M,\ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electromagnetic Four-potential
An electromagnetic four-potential is a relativistic vector function from which the electromagnetic field can be derived. It combines both an electric scalar potential and a magnetic vector potential into a single four-vector.Gravitation, J.A. Wheeler, C. Misner, K.S. Thorne, W.H. Freeman & Co, 1973, As measured in a given frame of reference, and for a given gauge, the first component of the electromagnetic four-potential is conventionally taken to be the electric scalar potential, and the other three components make up the magnetic vector potential. While both the scalar and vector potential depend upon the frame, the electromagnetic four-potential is Lorentz covariant. Like other potentials, many different electromagnetic four-potentials correspond to the same electromagnetic field, depending upon the choice of gauge. This article uses tensor index notation and the Minkowski metric sign convention . See also covariance and contravariance of vectors and raising and lowering in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complex Projective Space
In mathematics, complex projective space is the projective space with respect to the field of complex numbers. By analogy, whereas the points of a real projective space label the lines through the origin of a real Euclidean space, the points of a complex projective space label the ''complex'' lines through the origin of a complex Euclidean space (see below for an intuitive account). Formally, a complex projective space is the space of complex lines through the origin of an (''n''+1)-dimensional complex vector space. The space is denoted variously as P(C''n''+1), P''n''(C) or CP''n''. When , the complex projective space CP1 is the Riemann sphere, and when , CP2 is the complex projective plane (see there for a more elementary discussion). Complex projective space was first introduced by as an instance of what was then known as the "geometry of position", a notion originally due to Lazare Carnot, a kind of synthetic geometry that included other projective geometries as well. Sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classifying Space For U(n)
In mathematics, the classifying space for the unitary group U(''n'') is a space BU(''n'') together with a universal bundle EU(''n'') such that any hermitian bundle on a paracompact space ''X'' is the pull-back of EU(''n'') by a map ''X'' → BU(''n'') unique up to homotopy. This space with its universal fibration may be constructed as either # the Grassmannian of ''n''-planes in an infinite-dimensional complex Hilbert space; or, # the direct limit, with the induced topology, of Grassmannians of ''n'' planes. Both constructions are detailed here. Construction as an infinite Grassmannian The total space EU(''n'') of the universal bundle is given by :EU(n)=\left \. Here, ''H'' denotes an infinite-dimensional complex Hilbert space, the ''e''''i'' are vectors in ''H'', and \delta_ is the Kronecker delta. The symbol (\cdot,\cdot) is the inner product on ''H''. Thus, we have that EU(''n'') is the space of orthonormal ''n''-frames in ''H''. The group action of U(''n'') on this space i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homotopy Class
In topology, a branch of mathematics, two continuous functions from one topological space to another are called homotopic (from grc, ὁμός "same, similar" and "place") if one can be "continuously deformed" into the other, such a deformation being called a homotopy (, ; , ) between the two functions. A notable use of homotopy is the definition of homotopy groups and cohomotopy groups, important invariants in algebraic topology. In practice, there are technical difficulties in using homotopies with certain spaces. Algebraic topologists work with compactly generated spaces, CW complexes, or spectra. Formal definition Formally, a homotopy between two continuous functions ''f'' and ''g'' from a topological space ''X'' to a topological space ''Y'' is defined to be a continuous function H: X \times ,1\to Y from the product of the space ''X'' with the unit interval , 1to ''Y'' such that H(x,0) = f(x) and H(x,1) = g(x) for all x \in X. If we think of the second p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isomorphism Class
In mathematics, an isomorphism class is a collection of mathematical objects isomorphic to each other. Isomorphism classes are often defined as the exact identity of the elements of the set is considered irrelevant, and the properties of the structure of the mathematical object are studied. Examples of this are ordinals and graphs. However, there are circumstances in which the isomorphism class of an object conceals vital internal information about it; consider these examples: * The associative algebras consisting of coquaternions and 2 × 2 real matrices are isomorphic as rings. Yet they appear in different contexts for application (plane mapping and kinematics) so the isomorphism is insufficient to merge the concepts. *In homotopy theory, the fundamental group of a space X at a point p, though technically denoted \pi_1(X,p) to emphasize the dependence on the base point, is often written lazily as simply \pi_1(X) if X is path connected. The reason for this is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hopf Fibration
In the mathematical field of differential topology, the Hopf fibration (also known as the Hopf bundle or Hopf map) describes a 3-sphere (a hypersphere in four-dimensional space) in terms of circles and an ordinary sphere. Discovered by Heinz Hopf in 1931, it is an influential early example of a fiber bundle. Technically, Hopf found a many-to-one continuous function (or "map") from the -sphere onto the -sphere such that each distinct ''point'' of the -sphere is mapped from a distinct great circle of the -sphere . Thus the -sphere is composed of fibers, where each fiber is a circle — one for each point of the -sphere. This fiber bundle structure is denoted :S^1 \hookrightarrow S^3 \xrightarrow S^2, meaning that the fiber space (a circle) is embedded in the total space (the -sphere), and (Hopf's map) projects onto the base space (the ordinary -sphere). The Hopf fibration, like any fiber bundle, has the important property that it is locally a product space. However it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holonomy
In differential geometry Differential geometry is a mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of differential calculus, integral calculus, linear algebra and multili ..., the holonomy of a connection (mathematics), connection on a smooth manifold is a general geometrical consequence of the curvature of the connection measuring the extent to which parallel transport around closed loops fails to preserve the geometrical data being transported. For flat connections, the associated holonomy is a type of monodromy and is an inherently global notion. For curved connections, holonomy has nontrivial local and global features. Any kind of connection on a manifold gives rise, through its parallel transport maps, to some notion of holonomy. The most common forms of holonomy are for connections possessing some kind of symmetry. Important examples include: holonomy of the Levi-Civit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aharonov–Bohm Effect
The Aharonov–Bohm effect, sometimes called the Ehrenberg–Siday–Aharonov–Bohm effect, is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an electrically charged particle is affected by an electromagnetic potential (φ, A), despite being confined to a region in which both the magnetic field B and electric field E are zero. The underlying mechanism is the coupling of the electromagnetic potential with the complex phase of a charged particle's wave function, and the Aharonov–Bohm effect is accordingly illustrated by interference experiments. The most commonly described case, sometimes called the Aharonov–Bohm solenoid effect, takes place when the wave function of a charged particle passing around a long solenoid experiences a phase shift as a result of the enclosed magnetic field, despite the magnetic field being negligible in the region through which the particle passes and the particle's wavefunction being negligible inside the solenoid. This phase shift has been observed ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Charge
Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. Electric charge can be ''positive'' or ''negative'' (commonly carried by protons and electrons respectively). Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other. An object with an absence of net charge is referred to as neutral. Early knowledge of how charged substances interact is now called classical electrodynamics, and is still accurate for problems that do not require consideration of quantum effects. Electric charge is a conserved property; the net charge of an isolated system, the amount of positive charge minus the amount of negative charge, cannot change. Electric charge is carried by subatomic particles. In ordinary matter, negative charge is carried by electrons, and positive charge is carried by the protons in the nuclei of atoms. If there are more electrons than protons in a piece of matter, it will have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cohomology Group
In mathematics, specifically in homology theory and algebraic topology, cohomology is a general term for a sequence of abelian groups, usually one associated with a topological space, often defined from a cochain complex. Cohomology can be viewed as a method of assigning richer algebraic invariants to a space than homology. Some versions of cohomology arise by dualizing the construction of homology. In other words, cochains are functions on the group of chains in homology theory. From its beginning in topology, this idea became a dominant method in the mathematics of the second half of the twentieth century. From the initial idea of homology as a method of constructing algebraic invariants of topological spaces, the range of applications of homology and cohomology theories has spread throughout geometry and algebra. The terminology tends to hide the fact that cohomology, a contravariant theory, is more natural than homology in many applications. At a basic level, this has to do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirac Monopole
In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical elementary particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa). A magnetic monopole would have a net north or south "magnetic charge". Modern interest in the concept stems from high-energy physics, particle theories, notably the grand unified theory, grand unified and superstring theory, superstring theories, which predict their existence. The known elementary particles that have electric charge are electric monopoles. Magnetism in bar magnets and electromagnets is not caused by magnetic monopoles, and indeed, there is no known experimental or observational evidence that magnetic monopoles exist. Some condensed matter systems contain effective (non-isolated) magnetic monopole quasiparticle, quasi-particles, or contain phenomena that are mathematically analogous to magnetic monopoles. Historical background Early science and classical physics Many early scien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
