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Yang–Mills Instanton
An instanton (or pseudoparticle) is a notion appearing in theoretical and mathematical physics. An instanton is a classical solution to equations of motion with a finite, non-zero action, either in quantum mechanics or in quantum field theory. More precisely, it is a solution to the equations of motion of the classical field theory on a Euclidean spacetime. In such quantum theories, solutions to the equations of motion may be thought of as critical points of the action. The critical points of the action may be local maxima of the action, local minima, or saddle points. Instantons are important in quantum field theory because: * they appear in the path integral as the leading quantum corrections to the classical behavior of a system, and * they can be used to study the tunneling behavior in various systems such as a Yang–Mills theory. Relevant to dynamics, families of instantons permit that instantons, i.e. different critical points of the equation of motion, be related ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BPST Instanton
In theoretical physics, the BPST instanton is the instanton with winding number 1 found by Alexander Belavin, Alexander Polyakov, Albert Schwarz and Yu. S. Tyupkin. It is a classical solution to the equations of motion of SU(2) Yang–Mills theory in Euclidean space-time (i.e. after Wick rotation), meaning it describes a transition between two different topological vacua of the theory. It was originally hoped to open the path to solving the problem of confinement, especially since Polyakov had proven in 1987 that instantons are the cause of confinement in three-dimensional compact-QED. This hope was not realized, however. Description The instanton The BPST instanton is an essentially non-perturbative classical solution of the Yang–Mills field equations. It is found when minimizing the Yang–Mills SU(2) Lagrangian density: :\mathcal L = -\frac14F_^a F_^a with ''F''μν''a'' = ∂μ''A''ν''a'' – ∂ν''A''μ''a'' + ''g''ε''abc''''A''μ''b''''A''ν''c'' the field strengt ... [...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] |
Twistor Theory
In theoretical physics, twistor theory was proposed by Roger Penrose in 1967 as a possible path to quantum gravity and has evolved into a branch of theoretical and mathematical physics. Penrose proposed that twistor space should be the basic arena for physics from which space-time itself should emerge. It leads to a powerful set of mathematical tools that have applications to differential and integral geometry, nonlinear differential equations and representation theory and in physics to general relativity and quantum field theory, in particular to scattering amplitudes. Development seems to be indirectly influenced by Einstein–Cartan–Sciama–Kibble theory. Overview Mathematically, projective twistor space \mathbb is a 3-dimensional complex manifold, complex projective 3-space \mathbb^3. It has the physical interpretation of the space of massless particles with spin. It is the projectivisation of a 4-dimensional complex vector space, non-projective twistor space \mathbb w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypersphere
In mathematics, an -sphere or a hypersphere is a topological space that is homeomorphic to a ''standard'' -''sphere'', which is the set of points in -dimensional Euclidean space that are situated at a constant distance from a fixed point, called the ''center''. It is the generalization of an ordinary sphere in the ordinary three-dimensional space. The "radius" of a sphere is the constant distance of its points to the center. When the sphere has unit radius, it is usual to call it the unit -sphere or simply the -sphere for brevity. In terms of the standard norm, the -sphere is defined as : S^n = \left\ , and an -sphere of radius can be defined as : S^n(r) = \left\ . The dimension of -sphere is , and must not be confused with the dimension of the Euclidean space in which it is naturally embedded. An -sphere is the surface or boundary of an -dimensional ball. In particular: *the pair of points at the ends of a (one-dimensional) line segment is a 0-sphere, *a circle, which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauge Theory
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian (and hence the dynamics of the system itself) does not change (is invariant) under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups). The term ''gauge'' refers to any specific mathematical formalism to regulate redundant degrees of freedom in the Lagrangian of a physical system. The transformations between possible gauges, called ''gauge transformations'', form a Lie group—referred to as the ''symmetry group'' or the ''gauge group'' of the theory. Associated with any Lie group is the Lie algebra of group generators. For each group generator there necessarily arises a corresponding field (usually a vector field) called the ''gauge field''. Gauge fields are included in the Lagrangian to ensure its invariance under the local group transformations (called ''gauge invariance''). When such a theory is quantized, the quanta of the gauge fields are called '' gauge bosons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-abelian Group
In mathematics, and specifically in group theory, a non-abelian group, sometimes called a non-commutative group, is a group (''G'', ∗) in which there exists at least one pair of elements ''a'' and ''b'' of ''G'', such that ''a'' ∗ ''b'' ≠ ''b'' ∗ ''a''. This class of groups contrasts with the abelian groups. (In an abelian group, all pairs of group elements commute). Non-abelian groups are pervasive in mathematics and physics. One of the simplest examples of a non-abelian group is the dihedral group of order 6. It is the smallest finite non-abelian group. A common example from physics is the rotation group SO(3) in three dimensions (for example, rotating something 90 degrees along one axis and then 90 degrees along a different axis is not the same as doing them in reverse order). Both discrete groups and continuous groups may be non-abelian. Most of the interesting Lie groups are non-abelian, and these play an important role in gauge theory. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space-time
In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three-dimensional space, three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Minkowski diagram, Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize Special relativity, relativistic effects, such as why different observers perceive differently where and when events occur. Until the 20th century, it was assumed that the three-dimensional geometry of the universe (its spatial expression in terms of coordinates, distances, and directions) was independent of one-dimensional time. The physicist Albert Einstein helped develop the idea of spacetime as part of his theory of relativity. Prior to his pioneering work, scientists had two separate theories to explain physical phenomena: Isaac Newton's laws of physics described the motion of massive objects, while James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic models explained the properties of light. However, in 1905, Einstein based wikisource:Translation:On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riemannian Manifold
In differential geometry, a Riemannian manifold or Riemannian space , so called after the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann, is a real manifold, real, smooth manifold ''M'' equipped with a positive-definite Inner product space, inner product ''g''''p'' on the tangent space ''T''''p''''M'' at each point ''p''. The family ''g''''p'' of inner products is called a metric tensor, Riemannian metric (or Riemannian metric tensor). Riemannian geometry is the study of Riemannian manifolds. A common convention is to take ''g'' to be Smoothness, smooth, which means that for any smooth coordinate chart on ''M'', the ''n''2 functions :g\left(\frac,\frac\right):U\to\mathbb are smooth functions. These functions are commonly designated as g_. With further restrictions on the g_, one could also consider Lipschitz continuity, Lipschitz Riemannian metrics or Measurable function, measurable Riemannian metrics, among many other possibilities. A Riemannian metric (tensor) makes it possible to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principal Bundle
In mathematics, a principal bundle is a mathematical object that formalizes some of the essential features of the Cartesian product X \times G of a space X with a group G. In the same way as with the Cartesian product, a principal bundle P is equipped with # An action of G on P, analogous to (x, g)h = (x, gh) for a product space. # A projection onto X. For a product space, this is just the projection onto the first factor, (x,g) \mapsto x. Unlike a product space, principal bundles lack a preferred choice of identity cross-section; they have no preferred analog of (x,e). Likewise, there is not generally a projection onto G generalizing the projection onto the second factor, X \times G \to G that exists for the Cartesian product. They may also have a complicated topology that prevents them from being realized as a product space even if a number of arbitrary choices are made to try to define such a structure by defining it on smaller pieces of the space. A common example of a principal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connection (mathematics)
In geometry, the notion of a connection makes precise the idea of transporting local geometric objects, such as tangent vectors or tensors in the tangent space, along a curve or family of curves in a ''parallel'' and consistent manner. There are various kinds of connections in modern geometry, depending on what sort of data one wants to transport. For instance, an affine connection, the most elementary type of connection, gives a means for parallel transport of tangent vectors on a manifold from one point to another along a curve. An affine connection is typically given in the form of a covariant derivative, which gives a means for taking directional derivatives of vector fields, measuring the deviation of a vector field from being parallel in a given direction. Connections are of central importance in modern geometry in large part because they allow a comparison between the local geometry at one point and the local geometry at another point. Differential geometry embraces severa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-organized Criticality
Self-organized criticality (SOC) is a property of dynamical systems that have a critical point as an attractor. Their macroscopic behavior thus displays the spatial or temporal scale-invariance characteristic of the critical point of a phase transition, but without the need to tune control parameters to a precise value, because the system, effectively, tunes itself as it evolves towards criticality. The concept was put forward by Per Bak, Chao Tang and Kurt Wiesenfeld ("BTW") in a paper Papercore summaryhttp://papercore.org/Bak1987 published in 1987 in ''Physical Review Letters'', and is considered to be one of the mechanisms by which complexity arises in nature. Its concepts have been applied across fields as diverse as geophysics, physical cosmology, evolutionary biology and ecology, bio-inspired computing and optimization (mathematics), economics, quantum gravity, sociology, solar physics, plasma physics, neurobiology and others. SOC is typically observed in slowly dri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
