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Light-cone Coordinates
In physics, particularly special relativity, light-cone coordinates, introduced by Paul Dirac and also known as Dirac coordinates, are a special coordinate system where two coordinate axes combine both space and time, while all the others are spatial. Motivation A spacetime plane may be associated with the plane of split-complex numbers which is acted upon by elements of the unit hyperbola to effect Lorentz boosts. This number plane has axes corresponding to time and space. An alternative basis is the diagonal basis which corresponds to light-cone coordinates. Light-cone coordinates in special relativity In a light-cone coordinate system, two of the coordinates are null vectors and all the other coordinates are spatial. The former can be denoted x^+ and x^- and the latter x_\perp. Assume we are working with a (d,1) Lorentzian signature. Instead of the standard coordinate system (using Einstein notation) :ds^2=-dt^2+\delta_dx^i dx^j, with i,j=1,\dots,d we have :ds^2=-2dx^+dx^ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events." Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, with its main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. "Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences. Scientists of all disciplines use the ideas of physics, including chemists who study the structure of molecules, paleontologists who try to reconstruct how dinosaurs walked, and climatologists who study how human activities affect the atmosphere and oceans. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design a flat-screen TV, an interplanetary spacecraft, or even a better mousetrap without first understanding the basic laws of physic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theory Of Relativity
The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to the forces of nature. It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy. The theory transformed theoretical physics and astronomy during the 20th century, superseding a 200-year-old Classical mechanics, theory of mechanics created primarily by Isaac Newton. It introduced concepts including 4-dimensional spacetime as a unified entity of space and time in physics, time, relativity of simultaneity, kinematics, kinematic and gravity, gravitational time dilation, and length contraction. In the field of physics, relativity improved the science of elementary particles and their fundamental interactions, along with ushering in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a professor of physics at Florida State University and the University of Miami, and a 1933 Nobel Prize recipient. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Among other discoveries, he formulated the Dirac equation which describes the behaviour of fermions and predicted the existence of antimatter. Dirac shared the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics with Erwin Schrödinger "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory". He also made significant contributions to the reconciliation of general relativity with quantum mechanics. Dirac was regarded by his friends and colleagues as unusual in character. In a 1926 letter to Paul Ehrenfest, Albert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Split-complex Number
In algebra, a split complex number (or hyperbolic number, also perplex number, double number) has two real number components and , and is written z=x+yj, where j^2=1. The ''conjugate'' of is z^*=x-yj. Since j^2=1, the product of a number with its conjugate is N(z) := zz^* = x^2 - y^2, an isotropic quadratic form. The collection of all split complex numbers z=x+yj for forms an algebra over the field of real numbers. Two split-complex numbers and have a product that satisfies N(wz)=N(w)N(z). This composition of over the algebra product makes a composition algebra. A similar algebra based on and component-wise operations of addition and multiplication, where is the quadratic form on also forms a quadratic space. The ring isomorphism \begin D &\to \mathbb^2 \\ x + yj &\mapsto (x - y, x + y) \end relates proportional quadratic forms, but the mapping is an isometry since the multiplicative identity of is at a distance from 0, which is normalized in . S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unit Hyperbola
In geometry, the unit hyperbola is the set of points (''x'',''y'') in the Cartesian plane that satisfy the implicit equation x^2 - y^2 = 1 . In the study of indefinite orthogonal groups, the unit hyperbola forms the basis for an ''alternative radial length'' : r = \sqrt . Whereas the unit circle surrounds its center, the unit hyperbola requires the ''conjugate hyperbola'' y^2 - x^2 = 1 to complement it in the plane. This pair of hyperbolas share the asymptotes ''y'' = ''x'' and ''y'' = −''x''. When the conjugate of the unit hyperbola is in use, the alternative radial length is r = \sqrt . The unit hyperbola is a special case of the rectangular hyperbola, with a particular orientation, location, and scale. As such, its eccentricity equals \sqrt. The unit hyperbola finds applications where the circle must be replaced with the hyperbola for purposes of analytic geometry. A prominent instance is the depiction of spacetime as a pseudo-Euclidean space. There the asymptotes of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basis (linear Algebra)
In mathematics, a set of vectors in a vector space is called a basis if every element of may be written in a unique way as a finite linear combination of elements of . The coefficients of this linear combination are referred to as components or coordinates of the vector with respect to . The elements of a basis are called . Equivalently, a set is a basis if its elements are linearly independent and every element of is a linear combination of elements of . In other words, a basis is a linearly independent spanning set. A vector space can have several bases; however all the bases have the same number of elements, called the ''dimension'' of the vector space. This article deals mainly with finite-dimensional vector spaces. However, many of the principles are also valid for infinite-dimensional vector spaces. Definition A basis of a vector space over a field (such as the real numbers or the complex numbers ) is a linearly independent subset of that spans . This me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Null Vector
In mathematics, given a vector space ''X'' with an associated quadratic form ''q'', written , a null vector or isotropic vector is a non-zero element ''x'' of ''X'' for which . In the theory of real number, real bilinear forms, definite quadratic forms and isotropic quadratic forms are distinct. They are distinguished in that only for the latter does there exist a nonzero null vector. A quadratic space which has a null vector is called a pseudo-Euclidean space. A pseudo-Euclidean vector space may be decomposed (non-uniquely) into orthogonal subspaces ''A'' and ''B'', , where ''q'' is positive-definite on ''A'' and negative-definite on ''B''. The null cone, or isotropic cone, of ''X'' consists of the union of balanced spheres: \bigcup_ \. The null cone is also the union of the isotropic lines through the origin. Examples The Minkowski space#Causal structure, light-like vectors of Minkowski space are null vectors. The four linearly independent biquaternions , , , and are null ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Einstein Notation
In mathematics, especially the usage of linear algebra in Mathematical physics, Einstein notation (also known as the Einstein summation convention or Einstein summation notation) is a notational convention that implies summation over a set of indexed terms in a formula, thus achieving brevity. As part of mathematics it is a notational subset of Ricci calculus; however, it is often used in physics applications that do not distinguish between tangent and cotangent spaces. It was introduced to physics by Albert Einstein in 1916. Introduction Statement of convention According to this convention, when an index variable appears twice in a single term and is not otherwise defined (see Free and bound variables), it implies summation of that term over all the values of the index. So where the indices can range over the set , : y = \sum_^3 c_i x^i = c_1 x^1 + c_2 x^2 + c_3 x^3 is simplified by the convention to: : y = c_i x^i The upper indices are not exponents but are indices ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squeeze Mapping
In linear algebra, a squeeze mapping, also called a squeeze transformation, is a type of linear map that preserves Euclidean area of regions in the Cartesian plane, but is ''not'' a rotation or shear mapping. For a fixed positive real number , the mapping :(x, y) \mapsto (ax, y/a) is the ''squeeze mapping'' with parameter . Since :\ is a hyperbola, if and , then and the points of the image of the squeeze mapping are on the same hyperbola as is. For this reason it is natural to think of the squeeze mapping as a hyperbolic rotation, as did Émile Borel in 1914, by analogy with ''circular rotations'', which preserve circles. Logarithm and hyperbolic angle The squeeze mapping sets the stage for development of the concept of logarithms. The problem of finding the area bounded by a hyperbola (such as is one of quadrature. The solution, found by Grégoire de Saint-Vincent and Alphonse Antonio de Sarasa in 1647, required the natural logarithm function, a new concept. Some insight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newman–Penrose Formalism
The Newman–Penrose (NP) formalism The original paper by Newman and Penrose, which introduces the formalism, and uses it to derive example results.Ezra T Newman, Roger Penrose. ''Errata: An Approach to Gravitational Radiation by a Method of Spin Coefficients''. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 1963, 4(7): 998. is a set of notation developed by Ezra T. Newman and Roger Penrose for general relativity (GR). Their notation is an effort to treat general relativity in terms of spinor notation, which introduces complex forms of the usual variables used in GR. The NP formalism is itself a special case of the tetrad formalism, where the tensors of the theory are projected onto a complete vector basis at each point in spacetime. Usually this vector basis is chosen to reflect some symmetry of the spacetime, leading to simplified expressions for physical observables. In the case of the NP formalism, the vector basis chosen is a null tetrad: a set of four null vectors—two real, and a com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Cone Gauge
In theoretical physics, light cone gauge is an approach to remove the ambiguities arising from a gauge symmetry. While the term refers to several situations, a null component of a field ''A'' is set to zero (or a simple function of other variables) in all cases.''QCD calculations in the light-cone gauge'' Nuclear Physics B - Volume 165, Issue 2, 24 March 1980, Pages 237–268 by D.J. Pritchard, W.J. Stirlin/ref> The advantage of light-cone gauge is that fields, e.g. gluons in the QCD case, are transverse. Consequently, all ghosts and other unphysical degrees of freedom are eliminated. The disadvantage is that some symmetries such as Lorentz symmetry become obscured (they become non-manifest, i.e. hard to prove). Gauge theory In gauge theory, light-cone gauge refers to the condition A^+=0 where :A^+ (x^0,x^1,x^2,x^3) = A^0 (x^0,x^1,x^2,x^3) +A^3 (x^0,x^1,x^2,x^3) It is a method to get rid of the redundancies implied by Yang–Mills symmetry. String theory In string theory, lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noether Charge
Noether's theorem or Noether's first theorem states that every differentiable symmetry of the action of a physical system with conservative forces has a corresponding conservation law. The theorem was proven by mathematician Emmy Noether in 1915 and published in 1918. The action of a physical system is the integral over time of a Lagrangian function, from which the system's behavior can be determined by the principle of least action. This theorem only applies to continuous and smooth symmetries over physical space. Noether's theorem is used in theoretical physics and the calculus of variations. It reveals the fundamental relation between the symmetries of a physical system and the conservation laws. It also made modern theoretical physicists much more focused on symmetries of physical systems. A generalization of the formulations on constants of motion in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics (developed in 1788 and 1833, respectively), it does not apply to systems that canno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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