|
Nonlinear Sigma Models
In quantum field theory, a nonlinear ''σ'' model describes a scalar field which takes on values in a nonlinear manifold called the target manifold ''T''. The non-linear ''σ''-model was introduced by , who named it after a field corresponding to a spinless meson called ''σ'' in their model. This article deals primarily with the quantization of the non-linear sigma model; please refer to the base article on the sigma model for general definitions and classical (non-quantum) formulations and results. Description The target manifold ''T'' is equipped with a Riemannian metric ''g''. is a differentiable map from Minkowski space ''M'' (or some other space) to ''T''. The Lagrangian density in contemporary chiral form is given by :\mathcal=g(\partial^\mu\Sigma,\partial_\mu\Sigma)-V(\Sigma) where we have used a + − − − metric signature and the partial derivative is given by a section of the jet bundle of ''T''×''M'' and is the potential. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Field Theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and in condensed matter physics to construct models of quasiparticles. QFT treats particles as excited states (also called Quantum, quanta) of their underlying quantum field (physics), fields, which are more fundamental than the particles. The equation of motion of the particle is determined by minimization of the Lagrangian, a functional of fields associated with the particle. Interactions between particles are described by interaction terms in the Lagrangian (field theory), Lagrangian involving their corresponding quantum fields. Each interaction can be visually represented by Feynman diagrams according to perturbation theory (quantum mechanics), perturbation theory in quantum mechanics. History Quantum field theory emerged from the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lie Group
In mathematics, a Lie group (pronounced ) is a group that is also a differentiable manifold. A manifold is a space that locally resembles Euclidean space, whereas groups define the abstract concept of a binary operation along with the additional properties it must have to be thought of as a "transformation" in the abstract sense, for instance multiplication and the taking of inverses (division), or equivalently, the concept of addition and the taking of inverses (subtraction). Combining these two ideas, one obtains a continuous group where multiplying points and their inverses are continuous. If the multiplication and taking of inverses are smooth (differentiable) as well, one obtains a Lie group. Lie groups provide a natural model for the concept of continuous symmetry, a celebrated example of which is the rotational symmetry in three dimensions (given by the special orthogonal group \text(3)). Lie groups are widely used in many parts of modern mathematics and physics. Lie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conformal Field Theory
A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations. In two dimensions, there is an infinite-dimensional algebra of local conformal transformations, and conformal field theories can sometimes be exactly solved or classified. Conformal field theory has important applications to condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, quantum statistical mechanics, and string theory. Statistical and condensed matter systems are indeed often conformally invariant at their thermodynamic or quantum critical points. Scale invariance vs conformal invariance In quantum field theory, scale invariance is a common and natural symmetry, because any fixed point of the renormalization group is by definition scale invariant. Conformal symmetry is stronger than scale invariance, and one needs additional assumptions to argue that it should appear in nature. The basic idea behind its plausibility is that ''local'' scale invariant theories have their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein Field Equations
In the general theory of relativity, the Einstein field equations (EFE; also known as Einstein's equations) relate the geometry of spacetime to the distribution of matter within it. The equations were published by Einstein in 1915 in the form of a tensor equation which related the local ' (expressed by the Einstein tensor) with the local energy, momentum and stress within that spacetime (expressed by the stress–energy tensor). Analogously to the way that electromagnetic fields are related to the distribution of charges and currents via Maxwell's equations, the EFE relate the spacetime geometry to the distribution of mass–energy, momentum and stress, that is, they determine the metric tensor of spacetime for a given arrangement of stress–energy–momentum in the spacetime. The relationship between the metric tensor and the Einstein tensor allows the EFE to be written as a set of nonlinear partial differential equations when used in this way. The solutions of the EFE are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricci Flow
In the mathematical fields of differential geometry and geometric analysis, the Ricci flow ( , ), sometimes also referred to as Hamilton's Ricci flow, is a certain partial differential equation for a Riemannian metric. It is often said to be analogous to the diffusion of heat and the heat equation, due to formal similarities in the mathematical structure of the equation. However, it is nonlinear and exhibits many phenomena not present in the study of the heat equation. The Ricci flow, so named for the presence of the Ricci tensor in its definition, was introduced by Richard Hamilton, who used it through the 1980s to prove striking new results in Riemannian geometry. Later extensions of Hamilton's methods by various authors resulted in new applications to geometry, including the resolution of the differentiable sphere conjecture by Simon Brendle and Richard Schoen. Following Shing-Tung Yau's suggestion that the singularities of solutions of the Ricci flow could identify the topo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricci Tensor
In differential geometry, the Ricci curvature tensor, named after Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, is a geometric object which is determined by a choice of Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian metric on a manifold. It can be considered, broadly, as a measure of the degree to which the geometry of a given metric tensor differs locally from that of ordinary Euclidean space or pseudo-Euclidean space. The Ricci tensor can be characterized by measurement of how a shape is deformed as one moves along geodesics in the space. In general relativity, which involves the pseudo-Riemannian setting, this is reflected by the presence of the Ricci tensor in the Raychaudhuri equation. Partly for this reason, the Einstein field equations propose that spacetime can be described by a pseudo-Riemannian metric, with a strikingly simple relationship between the Ricci tensor and the matter content of the universe. Like the metric tensor, the Ricci tensor assigns to each tangent space of the manifold a symmetric bili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Friedan
Daniel Harry Friedan (born October 3, 1948) is an American theoretical physicist and one of three children of the feminist author and activist Betty Friedan. He is a professor at Rutgers University. Biography Education and career Friedan earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1987. In 1979, he showed that the equations of motions of string theory, which are generalizations of the Einstein equations of general relativity, emerge from the renormalization group equations for the two-dimensional field theory. Friedan has worked in string theory and condensed matter theory, specializing in (1 + 1)-dimensional systems. His current research focuses on applications to quantum computers. Friedan received the 2010 Lars Onsager Prize from the American Physical Society "for seminal work on the classification and characterization of two-dimensional unitary conformal field theories of critical states." [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worldsheet
In string theory, a worldsheet is a two-dimensional manifold which describes the embedding of a string in spacetime. The term was coined by Leonard Susskind as a direct generalization of the world line concept for a point particle in special and general relativity. The type of string, the geometry of the spacetime in which it propagates, and the presence of long-range background fields (such as gauge fields) are encoded in a two-dimensional conformal field theory defined on the worldsheet. For example, the bosonic string in 26 dimensions has a worldsheet conformal field theory consisting of 26 free scalar bosons. Meanwhile, a superstring worldsheet theory in 10 dimensions consists of 10 free scalar fields and their fermionic superpartners. Mathematical formulation Bosonic string We begin with the classical formulation of the bosonic string. First fix a d-dimensional flat spacetime (d-dimensional Minkowski space), M, which serves as the ambient space for the string. A w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Determinant
In mathematics, the determinant is a scalar value that is a function of the entries of a square matrix. It characterizes some properties of the matrix and the linear map represented by the matrix. In particular, the determinant is nonzero if and only if the matrix is invertible and the linear map represented by the matrix is an isomorphism. The determinant of a product of matrices is the product of their determinants (the preceding property is a corollary of this one). The determinant of a matrix is denoted , , or . The determinant of a matrix is :\begin a & b\\c & d \end=ad-bc, and the determinant of a matrix is : \begin a & b & c \\ d & e & f \\ g & h & i \end= aei + bfg + cdh - ceg - bdi - afh. The determinant of a matrix can be defined in several equivalent ways. Leibniz formula expresses the determinant as a sum of signed products of matrix entries such that each summand is the product of different entries, and the number of these summands is n!, the factorial of (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Functional Integration
Functional integration is a collection of results in mathematics and physics where the domain of an integral is no longer a region of space, but a space of functions. Functional integrals arise in probability, in the study of partial differential equations, and in the path integral approach to the quantum mechanics of particles and fields. In an ordinary integral (in the sense of Lebesgue integration) there is a function to be integrated (the integrand) and a region of space over which to integrate the function (the domain of integration). The process of integration consists of adding up the values of the integrand for each point of the domain of integration. Making this procedure rigorous requires a limiting procedure, where the domain of integration is divided into smaller and smaller regions. For each small region, the value of the integrand cannot vary much, so it may be replaced by a single value. In a functional integral the domain of integration is a space of functions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compact Group
In mathematics, a compact (topological) group is a topological group whose topology realizes it as a compact topological space (when an element of the group is operated on, the result is also within the group). Compact groups are a natural generalization of finite groups with the discrete topology and have properties that carry over in significant fashion. Compact groups have a well-understood theory, in relation to group actions and representation theory. In the following we will assume all groups are Hausdorff spaces. Compact Lie groups Lie groups form a class of topological groups, and the compact Lie groups have a particularly well-developed theory. Basic examples of compact Lie groups include * the circle group T and the torus groups T''n'', * the orthogonal group O(''n''), the special orthogonal group SO(''n'') and its covering spin group Spin(''n''), * the unitary group U(''n'') and the special unitary group SU(''n''), * the compact forms of the exceptional Lie gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonlinear Realization
In mathematical physics, nonlinear realization of a Lie group ''G'' possessing a Cartan subgroup ''H'' is a particular induced representation of ''G''. In fact, it is a representation of a Lie algebra \mathfrak g of ''G'' in a neighborhood of its origin. A nonlinear realization, when restricted to the subgroup ''H'' reduces to a linear representation. A nonlinear realization technique is part and parcel of many field theories with spontaneous symmetry breaking, e.g., chiral models, chiral symmetry breaking, Goldstone boson theory, classical Higgs field theory, gauge gravitation theory and supergravity. Let ''G'' be a Lie group and ''H'' its Cartan subgroup which admits a linear representation in a vector space ''V''. A Lie algebra \mathfrak g of ''G'' splits into the sum \mathfrak g=\mathfrak h \oplus \mathfrak f of the Cartan subalgebra \mathfrak h of ''H'' and its supplement \mathfrak f, such that : mathfrak f,\mathfrak fsubset \mathfrak h, \qquad mathfrak f,\mathfrak h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
