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Course, academic year 2023/2024
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Advanced Course of Group Theory for Physicists - NMAF038
Title: Pokročilé partie z teorie grup pro fyziky
Guaranteed by: Mathematical Institute of Charles University (32-MUUK)
Faculty: Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Actual: from 2023
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 4
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/1, C+Ex [HT]
Capacity: unlimited
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
Key competences: critical thinking
State of the course: taught
Language: Czech
Teaching methods: full-time
Teaching methods: full-time
Guarantor: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D.
Classification: Physics > Mathematics for Physicists
Annotation -
Last update: T_KMA (15.05.2008)
An advanced course of group theory for physicists. It is following to the basic course of mathematics for physicists.
Aim of the course -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (25.01.2024)

Teach basics of the representation theory of Lie groups.

Course completion requirements -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (05.02.2024)

The examination is oral with a written preparation. In the case of a distance teaching, the exam is written.

Knowledge of definitions, theorems and proofs are tested which were taught during the course. Easy consequences of theorems and their application in specific cases

are tested as well but rather rarely.

Literature -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (12.02.2023)

S. Sternberg, Group theory and Physics, CUP.

L. Frappat, A. Sciarrino, P. Sorba, A dictionary of Lie algebras and superalgebras, Academic Press, 2000.

M. Sepanski, Compact Lie Groups, Springer, 2007.

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R. Goodman, N., Wallach, Representations and Invariants of the Classical groups, Cambridge.

A. Deitmar, S. Echterhoff, Principles of Harmonic Analysis, Springer.

D. P. Želobenko, Compact Lie groups and their representations, Translations of Mathematical Monographs, 40, AMS, Providence, 1973.

W. Fulton, J. Harris, Representation Theory, A first course, Springer, Heidelberg, 1991.

V. S. Varadarajan, Supersymmetry for mathematicians: an introduction, Courant Lecture Notes, AMS, Providence, 2004.

A. Klimyk, N. Vilenkin, Representations of Lie groups and speciál functions, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991.

G. Folland, Harmonic Analysis on Phase Space.

G. Warner, Harmonic Analysis on Semi-Simple Lie groups, Vol. I., Springer.

Teaching methods -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (01.06.2020)

Lectures and classes based on available literature.

Requirements to the exam -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (01.06.2020)

Knowledge of taught definitions, theorems and their proofs, application of theorems, and proofs of easy consequences of assertions are tested

of those theorems that were presented in the lecture.

Syllabus -
Last update: doc. RNDr. Svatopluk Krýsl, Ph.D. (25.01.2024)

0. Introduction/Recall: Representations as presentation of groups ('tablaeux') by symmetries of space and as 'manifestation of' of symmetries o space in Classical mechanics (Hamiltonian systems) and Quantum Mechanics.

1. Recall of smooth manifolds: definition and examples. Definition of Lie group. Implicit function theorem for manifolds and Lie groups (without proofs). Proofs of the basic examples, i.e., that R^n, S^1, GL(n, F), SL(n, F), O(n, F), SO(n, F), U(n), SU(n), T^n (tori), F = R, C, are Lie groups. Dimensions of these manifolds.

2. (Borel, Radon and) Haar measures: definitions and basic examples. Haar measure for the symmetry group of the affine line and GL(n,R).

Weil theorem on Haar measure (without proof, proof eventually for Lie groups). Modular factor.

3. a) Representations of Lie groups: (closed) invariant subspace, irreducibility, (complete) reducibility, Schur lemma, representation of commutative groups, associated representations: Hilbert sum, dual, tensor product representations on Hilbert spaces. Representations of S^1, Z, and R^n. A non-topological version of Pontrjagin (self-)duality: "dual of dual of S1 is S1" and "dual of dual of Z is Z". Connection of Fourier coefficients to the Fourier transform.

3. b) Representations of compact Lie group: unitarization, complete reducibility, finite dimension of irreducible representations (without proof) a Peter--Weyl theorem (without proof):

Examples: C_n (cyclic), S_3, S_4 (permutation groups).

(Appendix: Overview of the algebraic theory of representations of Lie algebras - definition of Lie algebras, Cartan subalgebras, root, positive root, simple root, fundamental weight.

Cartan's theorem on the classification of irreducible representations of simple Lie algebras. Examples: sl(2,C) a sl(3,C).)

4. Examples of irreducible representations: Representations of SU(2), i.e., Spin(3) - double cover of SO(3), thus of the inner spin symmetries.

O(n) and harmonic polynomials, i.e., connected to orbital states in quantum mechanics.

(5. Special functions: Bessel and Legéndre functions. Special functions as matrix coefficients.)

6. Super-vector spaces, super-algebras, Lie super-algebras. Examples: Grassmann algebra, gl(m|n), sl(m|n), and eventually osp(m|n).

(Basic overview of Kac's classification of simple Lie super-algebras.)

7. Representations of the Heisenberg group: Stone--Neumann theorem, Schrödinger representation, and canonical commutation relations (CCR, canonical quantization) as

differentiation of the Schroedinger representation. (Segal--Shale--Weil representation.)

(8. Representations of semi-direct products, Mackey theorem about the "little group" without proof.

Applications to the representation of the affine line symmetries group and the Poincaré group - semidirect product of the indefinite orthogonal groop O(1,3) and the abelian translational R^4, Wigner-type classification of the irreducible representation of the Poincare group - thus a classification of particles according to special relativistic quantum mechanics.)

 
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