Product Description

Illustrating the fascinating interplay between physics and mathematics, this book provides a solid foundation in the theory of groups, particularly group representations. This fully revised edition includes a new chapter on the Cartan-Dynkin treatment of Lie algebras. This treatment leads to a systematic classification of Lie algebras and enables one to enumerate and construct their irreducible representations. Taking an approach that allows physics students to recognize the power and elegance of the abstract, axiomatic method, the book first develops the formalism and then deals with the physical applications. It illustrates formal mathematical definitions and proofs with numerous concrete examples.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #227980 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 340 pages

Zentralblatt Math, E. Weimar-Woods, No. 913, 1999
The second edition got enlarged by one chapter on the classification of simple Lie algebra. Thos chapter gives some valuable insight into the methods, ideas, calculations and results of this general approach. Rigorous proofs are mostly missing though. Altogether, this book can be recommended as a useful introduction to the subject with a clear and detailed exposition

From the Back Cover
Illustrating the fascinating interplay between physics and mathematics, Groups, Representations and Physics, Second Edition provides a solid foundation in the theory of groups, particularly group representations. For this new, fully revised edition, the author has enhanced the book's usefulness and widened its appeal by adding a chapter on the Cartan-Dynkin treatment of Lie algebras. This treatment, a generalization of the method of raising and lowering operators used for the rotation group, leads to a systematic classification of Lie algebras and enables one to enumerate and construct their irreducible representations. Taking an approach that allows physics students to recognize the power and elegance of the abstract, axiomatic method, the book focuses on chapters that develop the formalism, followed by chapters that deal with the physical applications. It also illustrates formal mathematical definitions and proofs with numerous concrete examples.

Customer Reviews

An excellent intoduction to group theory
An excellent introduction to group theory and its application to Physics problems. Groups is often considered a difficult subject by undergraduates but with the help of this book I had little difficulty in making giant leaps forward, SU(2), SO(3), youngs tableaux, Lie algebras and gauge groups couldn't be made simpler.

useful if you know Prof Jones
this is was the recommended course textbook for the group theory course module at imperial college (london), of which Prof Jones used to teach. some of the methods in the book aren't clearly explained (too many intermediate steps missed out). however with enough penwork you can always work it out. the book in my view should have more generic examples of practical uses of the methods discussed (although i admit these must be hard to find!). the examples given assume too much prior knowledge of the physics involved.

good all round book, but may require another text for more clarification.