Fundamental Forces Of Nature: The Story Of Gauge Fields The Story of Gauge Fields

"Gauge fields are the messengers carrying signals between elementary particles, enabling them to interact with each other. Originating at the level of quarks, these basic interactions percolate upwards, through nuclear and atomic physics, through chemical and solid state physics, to make our everyday world go round. This book tells the story of gauge fields, from Maxwell's 1860 theory of electromagnetism to the 1954 theory of Yang and Mills that underlies the Standard Model of elementary particle theory. In the course of the narration, the author introduces people and events in experimental and theoretical physics that contribute to ideas that have shaped our conception of the physical world"--Provided by publisher Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 1.1 Motion......Page 16 1.2 Gravitation......Page 17 1.4 Equivalence principle......Page 19 1.5 Energy......Page 21 1.7 Least action......Page 22 1.8 Newton canonized......Page 24 1.9 Themechanical universe......Page 25 2.1 Electric field......Page 28 2.3 Multipoles......Page 29 2.4 Scalar potential......Page 30 2.6 Magnetic field......Page 31 2.8 Electromagnetic induction......Page 33 2.9 Maxwell’s equations......Page 34 2.10 Radiation......Page 37 3. The Vacuum is the Medium......Page 40 3.2 Reference frames......Page 41 3.4 Lorentz transformation......Page 43 3.5 Relativity of space and time......Page 45 3.6 Four vectors......Page 46 3.7 E = mc2......Page 47 3.9 Maxwell’s true form......Page 48 3.10 The gauge field......Page 49 3.11 Who wrote these signs......Page 50 3.12 Lorentz and Einstein......Page 51 4.1 Local gauge invariance......Page 54 4.2 A creation......Page 55 4.3 The gauge principle......Page 57 4.4 Hermann Weyl......Page 58 4.5 And there was light......Page 60 5.1 Alien signals......Page 62 5.2 Bohr’s atom......Page 64 5.3 Purely imaginary......Page 67 5.4 Quantum mechanics......Page 69 5.5 The wave function......Page 70 5.6 Quantum theory and relativity......Page 71 5.7 Silly question......Page 72 6.1 The uncertainty relation......Page 74 6.2 Wave nature of matter......Page 75 6.3 Entanglement......Page 76 6.4 All virtual realities......Page 79 6.5 The quantum century......Page 81 6.6 The Waste Lecture......Page 82 7.1 The quantumgauge......Page 84 7.2 Covariant derivative......Page 85 7.3 Aharonov–Bohm experiment......Page 86 7.4 U(1)......Page 88 7.5 Quantum gauge principle......Page 89 7.6 Global vs. local gauge invariance......Page 90 8.1 Rotations do not commute......Page 92 8.2 Hamilton’s flash of insight......Page 8 8.4 Groups......Page 95 8.5 SU(2): fundamental representation......Page 96 8.6 The adjoint representation......Page 98 9.1 Gauging SU(2)......Page 100 9.3 Maxwell generalized......Page 103 9.4 Gauge photons......Page 105 9.6 Monopole: the gauge hedgehog......Page 106 9.7 Into the deep freeze......Page 108 10.1 Real photons......Page 110 10.2 Quantum jumps......Page 112 10.3 Virtual photons......Page 114 11.1 The quantum field......Page 116 11.2 Particle and antiparticle......Page 118 11.3 The Dirac equation......Page 119 11.4 The Dirac sea......Page 120 11.5 Reversing time......Page 121 11.6 Feynman diagram......Page 123 11.7 The fine-structure constant......Page 126 12.2 Interaction vertex......Page 128 12.3 Self-energy......Page 129 12.4 Vacuum polarization......Page 130 12.5 The dressed electron......Page 131 12.6 The ultraviolet catastrophe......Page 132 12.7 Reality of vacuum fluctuations......Page 134 12.8 When physicists were heroes......Page 137 12.9 The enduring QED......Page 138 13.1 Beginnings......Page 142 13.2 Bosons and fermions......Page 147 13.3 Spin and statistics......Page 149 13.4 Interactions......Page 150 14.1 Dawn of the post-modern era......Page 154 14.2 Neutrino: a left-handed screw......Page 157 14.3 CP......Page 158 14.4 Is nothing sacred?......Page 159 15.1 The accelerator boom......Page 162 15.2 Darkness at noon......Page 165 15.3 The ontological bootstrap......Page 167 15.4 The ultimate temperature......Page 170 15.5 Echos of an era......Page 171 16.1 Strangeness......Page 172 16.2 Octet and decaplet......Page 173 16.3 The eightfold way......Page 175 16.4 “Three quarks for Muster Mark!”......Page 177 16.6 Partons......Page 178 16.7 Charmonium.......Page 179 16.8 Color......Page 181 17.1 Yang–Mills awakens......Page 184 17.2 Unifying electromagnetic and weak interactions......Page 185 17.3 Generating mass......Page 187 17.4. Making the photon......Page 188 17.5 Historical note......Page 189 17.6 The lepton-quark family......Page 190 17.7 QCD......Page 191 17.8 Two more families: who ordered them?......Page 192 17.9 The standard model......Page 194 18.1 What is mass?......Page 196 18.2 How a magnet gets magnetized......Page 197 18.3 The order parameter......Page 199 18.4 The Goldstone mode......Page 201 18.5 Superconductivity: the photon gets mass......Page 203 18.6 Historical note......Page 204 19. Quark Confinement......Page 208 19.1 Monopole confinement......Page 10 19.2 Electric flux tube......Page 209 19.3 The QCD string......Page 212 19.4 Asymptotic freedom......Page 213 20.1 Mass......Page 216 20.2 Chirality......Page 218 20.3 The pion as Goldstone boson......Page 219 20.4 PCAC......Page 220 20.5 The triangle anomaly......Page 222 20.6 Lepton-quark family structure......Page 224 20.7 Waiting for closure......Page 226 21.1 Amatter of scale......Page 230 21.2 Renormalization......Page 232 21.3 The running coupling......Page 234 21.5 UV fixed point: QCD......Page 237 21.6 IR fixed point: QED......Page 238 21.7 Crossover: scientific revolution......Page 240 22.1 The physics is in the cutoff......Page 242 22.2 The RG trajectory......Page 243 22.3 The space of Lagrangians......Page 246 22.4 Of time and temperature......Page 247 22.5 Tian Wen......Page 249 22.6 Tian Wen updated......Page 251 Epilogue: Beauty is Truth......Page 252 Annual listing......Page 254 Alphabetical listing......Page 272 Name Index......Page 276 Subject Index......Page 280

This book contains the proceedings of the Fourth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, held at Indiana University in Bloomington on August 8-11, 2007. The Meeting focused on experimental tests of these fundamental symmetries and on important theoretical issues, including scenarios for possible relativity violations.Experimental subjects covered include: astrophysical observations, clock-comparison measurements, cosmological birefringence, electromagnetic resonant cavities, gravitational tests, matter interferometry, muon behavior, neutrino oscillations, oscillations and decays of neutral mesons, particle-antiparticle comparisons, post-Newtonian gravity, space-based missions, spectroscopy of hydrogen and antihydrogen, and spin-polarized matter. Theoretical topics covered include: physical effects at the level of the Standard Model, General Relativity, and beyond; the possible origins and mechanisms for Lorentz and CPT violations; and associated issues in field theory, particle physics, gravity, and string theory. Contributors consist of the leading experts in this very active research field.

This Book Tells The Story Of Gauge Fields, From Maxwell's 1860 Theory Of Electromagnetism To The 1954 Theory Of Yang And Mills That Underlies The Standard Model Of Elementary Particle Theory. In The Course Of The Narration, The Author Introduces People And Events In Experimental And Theoretical Physics That Contribute To Ideas That Have Shaped Our Conception Of The Physical World.--book Jacket. What Makes The World Tick? -- Electromagnetism -- The Vacuum Is The Medium -- Let There Be Light -- Heroic Age: The Struggle For Quantum Theory -- Quantum Reality -- What Is Charge? -- The Zen Of Rotation -- Yang-mills Field: Non-commuting Charges -- Photons Real And Virtual -- Creation And Annihilation -- The Dynamical Vacuum -- Elementary Particles -- The Fall Of Parity -- The Particle Explosion -- Quarks -- All Interactions Are Local -- Broken Symmetry -- Quark Confinement -- Hanging Threads Of Silk -- The World In A Grain Of Sand -- In The Space Of All Possible Theories -- Epilogue: Beauty Is Truth. Kerson Huang. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. This book is an excellent review of gauge fields. The scope is from Maxwell to renormalization groups, with an epilogue that diagrammatically sums up the last few chapters. The book is a popularization, not a text book. It is comparable to Zee's "Fearful Symmetry". If you don't know what gauge fields, QED and QCD are about, this is probably not the place to start. But if you'd like a very readable overview, with equations, but without problems, I recommend this one highly.