Shattered Symmetry:Group Theory From the Eightfold Way to the Periodic Table

by: Pieter Thyssen (Author),Aout Ceulemans(Author)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Edition: 1st

Publication Date: 2017/1/31

Language: English

Print Length: 528 pages

ISBN-10: 0190611391

ISBN-13: 9780190611392

Book Description

Symmetry is at the heart of our understanding of matter. This book tells the fascinating story of the constituents of matter from a common symmetry perspective. The standard model of elementary particles and the periodic table of chemical elements have the common goal to bring order in the bewildering chaos of the constituents of matter. Their success relies on the presence of fundamental symmetries in their core.The purpose of Shattered Symmetry is to share the admiration for the power and the beauty of these symmetries. The reader is taken on a jouey from the basic geometric symmetry group of a circle to the sublime dynamic symmetries that gove the motions of the particles. Along the way the theory of symmetry groups is gradually introduced with special emphasis on its use as a classification tool and its graphical representations. This is applied to the unitary symmetry of the eightfold way of quarks, and to the four-dimensional symmetry of the hydrogen atom. The final challenge is to open up the structure of Mendeleev's table which goes beyond the symmetry of the hydrogen atom. Breaking this symmetry to accommodate the multi-electron atoms requires us to leave the common ground of linear algebras and explore the potential of non-linearity.

About the Author

Symmetry is at the heart of our understanding of matter. This book tells the fascinating story of the constituents of matter from a common symmetry perspective. The standard model of elementary particles and the periodic table of chemical elements have the common goal to bring order in the bewildering chaos of the constituents of matter. Their success relies on the presence of fundamental symmetries in their core.The purpose of Shattered Symmetry is to share the admiration for the power and the beauty of these symmetries. The reader is taken on a jouey from the basic geometric symmetry group of a circle to the sublime dynamic symmetries that gove the motions of the particles. Along the way the theory of symmetry groups is gradually introduced with special emphasis on its use as a classification tool and its graphical representations. This is applied to the unitary symmetry of the eightfold way of quarks, and to the four-dimensional symmetry of the hydrogen atom. The final challenge is to open up the structure of Mendeleev's table which goes beyond the symmetry of the hydrogen atom. Breaking this symmetry to accommodate the multi-electron atoms requires us to leave the common ground of linear algebras and explore the potential of non-linearity.