Science

Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists

Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists

  • Downloads：5478
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-13 11:53:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：A. Zee
  • ISBN：0691162697
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

A concise， modern textbook on group theory written especially for physicists



Although group theory is a mathematical subject， it is indispensable to many areas of modern theoretical physics， from atomic physics to condensed matter physics， particle physics to string theory。 In particular， it is essential for an understanding of the fundamental forces。 Yet until now， what has been missing is a modern， accessible， and self-contained textbook on the subject written especially for physicists。

Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists fills this gap， providing a user-friendly and classroom-tested text that focuses on those aspects of group theory physicists most need to know。 From the basic intuitive notion of a group， A。 Zee takes readers all the way up to how theories based on gauge groups could unify three of the four fundamental forces。 He also includes a concise review of the linear algebra needed for group theory， making the book ideal for self-study。

Provides physicists with a modern and accessible introduction to group theory
Covers applications to various areas of physics， including field theory， particle physics， relativity， and much more
Topics include finite group and character tables; real， pseudoreal， and complex representations; Weyl， Dirac， and Majorana equations; the expanding universe and group theory; grand unification; and much more
The essential textbook for students and an invaluable resource for researchers
Features a brief， self-contained treatment of linear algebra
An online illustration package is available to professors
Solutions manual （available only to professors）

Download

Reviews

Kirk Moodey ，

This is by far the best book on group theory I've ever read。 The review on matrices is excellent if， like me， you had a very bad introduction to them previously。 Most books on group theory I've tried to read either go incredibly sparing on the details for layman， or go incredibly technical and dry。 This is as it says: Group Theory for physicists。 This is by far the best book on group theory I've ever read。 The review on matrices is excellent if， like me， you had a very bad introduction to them previously。 Most books on group theory I've tried to read either go incredibly sparing on the details for layman， or go incredibly technical and dry。 This is as it says: Group Theory for physicists。 。。。more

Adam Lantos ，

Just to get this out of the way: this is a must-buy。 Group theory can be taught in a very boring way。 See Georgi's book for example， where he starts off by giving definition after definition without truly motivating things; this becomes cumbersome and causes the reader's attention span to drop dramatically fast。 In contrast， Zee approaches the subject in a much more accessible way， starting from very simple things （even has a nice review of Linear Algebra at the start of the book） and gradually Just to get this out of the way: this is a must-buy。 Group theory can be taught in a very boring way。 See Georgi's book for example， where he starts off by giving definition after definition without truly motivating things; this becomes cumbersome and causes the reader's attention span to drop dramatically fast。 In contrast， Zee approaches the subject in a much more accessible way， starting from very simple things （even has a nice review of Linear Algebra at the start of the book） and gradually and -unfortunately but inescapably- slowly builds up towards more advanced concepts。The fact that everything， from the very simple to the very abstract， is motivated is simply amazing and gives a whole new touch to how this subject is taught。 I enjoyed reading it; from going through the small bits of physics history to following each small proof to reading the amazing gems of unique insight that the author provides， everything is enjoyable。 And the humor is also good （although if you did not like the style of Zee's other Nuts， then you won't like the style of this one too）。To give an example of something done really good， I mention that Zee is the only author of a Group theory book （at least from the popular ones） that has made me truly understand what exactly the quotient group is and why it is important。 I mean， you can say that you totally get what the quotient group is through its definition， but besides that there's a much-needed intuition to be built in order to truly appreciate why we define it。 Zee provides this in spades。With these being said， this is no book for anybody wanting a rigorous exposition to this beautiful subject。 Zee uses the slang of Group theory in most occasions， of course， but he omits doing everything with the painstaking accuracy of rigorous math。 This leaves more space for the brain to deepen the understanding of the basics， so for me this is great。 Bear in mind that I used this book for a Group theory course that is non-rigorous， so the course ties really well with this。 I have to admit that sometimes I needed more rigor， but I just supplemented this with our lecture notes。 The conclusion I draw from this is that this will probably serve you very well， no matter the approach you want to take， but I could definitely see some readers wanting to use this only as a supplement。Note that this is also great for undergrads who want to learn Group theory。 This is a super good intro。 Graduate students can at least use this as a supplement。 One thing is true though: this is a gem that everybody must buy。Lastly， I want to also mention that I really like the breadth of the topics covered here。 From the standard stuff of particle physics to cosmology and even condensed matter physics， the author provides us with really nice applications of Group theory in physics and the topics presented here showcase the author's deep and wide understanding that comes from his own wide research experience （lot's of condensed matter and high-energy physics）。So， to conclude， this has the trademark writing style of Zee （smooth and easy-going）， the unique insights of the author， breadth of topics and paves the way to deep intuitive understanding of the topic。 A must-buy。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Group Theory in a Nutshell for Physicists&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0