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N = 4 Supersymmetric Yang–Mills Theory
''N'' = 4 supersymmetric Yang–Mills (SYM) theory is a relativistic conformally invariant Lagrangian gauge theory describing the interactions of fermions via gauge field exchanges. In ''D''=4 spacetime dimensions, ''N''=4 is the maximal number of supersymmetries or supersymmetry charges. SYM theory is a toy theory based on Yang–Mills theory; it does not model the real world, but it is useful because it can act as a proving ground for approaches for attacking problems in more complex theories. It describes a universe containing boson fields and fermion fields which are related by four supersymmetries (this means that transforming bosonic and fermionic fields in a certain way leaves the theory invariant). It is one of the simplest (in the sense that it has no free parameters except for the gauge group) and one of the few ultraviolet finite quantum field theories in 4 dimensions. It can be thought of as the most symmetric field theory that does not involve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Relativity
In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between Spacetime, space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, Annus Mirabilis papers#Special relativity, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", the theory is presented as being based on just Postulates of special relativity, two postulates: # The laws of physics are Invariant (physics), invariant (identical) in all Inertial frame of reference, inertial frames of reference (that is, Frame of reference, frames of reference with no acceleration). This is known as the principle of relativity. # The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer. This is known as the principle of light constancy, or the principle of light speed invariance. The first postulate was first formulated by Galileo Galilei (see ''Galilean invariance''). Background Special relativity builds upon important physics ide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superfield
In theoretical physics, a supermultiplet is a representation of a supersymmetry algebra, possibly with extended supersymmetry. Then a superfield is a field on superspace which is valued in such a representation. Naïvely, or when considering flat superspace, a superfield can simply be viewed as a function on superspace. Formally, it is a section of an associated supermultiplet bundle. Phenomenologically, superfields are used to describe particles. It is a feature of supersymmetric field theories that particles form pairs, called superpartners where bosons are paired with fermions. These supersymmetric fields are used to build supersymmetric quantum field theories, where the fields are promoted to operators. History Superfields were introduced by Abdus Salam and J. A. Strathdee in a 1974 article. Operations on superfields and a partial classification were presented a few months later by Sergio Ferrara, Julius Wess and Bruno Zumino. Naming and classification The most commonl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N = 8 Supergravity
In four spacetime dimensions, ''N'' = 8 supergravity, speculated by Stephen Hawking, is the most symmetric quantum field theory which involves gravity and a finite number of fields. It can be found from a dimensional reduction of eleven-dimensional supergravity by making the size of seven of the dimensions go to zero. It has eight supersymmetries, which is the most any gravitational theory can have, since there are eight half-steps between spin 2 and spin −2. (The spin 2 graviton is the particle with the highest spin in this theory.) More supersymmetries would mean the particles would have superpartners with spins higher than 2. The only theories with spins higher than 2 which are consistent involve an infinite number of particles (such as string theory and higher-spin theories). Stephen Hawking in his '' Brief History of Time'' speculated that this theory could be the theory of everything. However, in later years this was abandoned in favour of string theory. Ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graviton
In theories of quantum gravity, the graviton is the hypothetical elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitational interaction. There is no complete quantum field theory of gravitons due to an outstanding mathematical problem with renormalization in general relativity. In string theory, believed by some to be a consistent theory of quantum gravity, the graviton is a massless state of a fundamental string. If it exists, the graviton is expected to be massless because the gravitational force has a very long range and appears to propagate at the speed of light. The graviton must be a spin-2 boson because the source of gravitation is the stress–energy tensor, a second-order tensor (compared with electromagnetism's spin-1 photon, the source of which is the four-current, a first-order tensor). Additionally, it can be shown that any massless spin-2 field would give rise to a force indistinguishable from gravitation, because a massless spin-2 field would couple to the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tensor
In mathematics, a tensor is an algebraic object that describes a multilinear relationship between sets of algebraic objects associated with a vector space. Tensors may map between different objects such as vectors, scalars, and even other tensors. There are many types of tensors, including scalars and vectors (which are the simplest tensors), dual vectors, multilinear maps between vector spaces, and even some operations such as the dot product. Tensors are defined independent of any basis, although they are often referred to by their components in a basis related to a particular coordinate system; those components form an array, which can be thought of as a high-dimensional matrix. Tensors have become important in physics because they provide a concise mathematical framework for formulating and solving physics problems in areas such as mechanics ( stress, elasticity, quantum mechanics, fluid mechanics, moment of inertia, ...), electrodynamics ( electromagnetic ten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin (physics)
Spin is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by List of particles#Composite particles, composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin is quantized, and accurate models for the interaction with spin require relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory. The existence of electron spin angular momentum is inferred from experiments, such as the Stern–Gerlach experiment, in which silver atoms were observed to possess two possible discrete angular momenta despite having no orbital angular momentum. The relativistic spin–statistics theorem connects electron spin quantization to the Pauli exclusion principle: observations of exclusion imply half-integer spin, and observations of half-integer spin imply exclusion. Spin is described mathematically as a vector for some particles such as photons, and as a spinor or bispinor for other particles such as electrons. Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twistor Theory
In theoretical physics, twistor theory was proposed by Roger Penrose in 1967 as a possible path to quantum gravity and has evolved into a widely studied branch of theoretical and mathematical physics. Penrose's idea was that twistor space should be the basic arena for physics from which space-time itself should emerge. It has led to powerful mathematical tools that have applications to differential and integral geometry, nonlinear differential equations and representation theory, and in physics to general relativity, quantum field theory, and the theory of scattering amplitudes. Twistor theory arose in the context of the rapidly expanding mathematical developments in Einstein's theory of general relativity in the late 1950s and in the 1960s and carries a number of influences from that period. In particular, Roger Penrose has credited Ivor Robinson as an important early influence in the development of twistor theory, through his construction of so-called ''Robinson congruences ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Null Vector
In mathematics, given a vector space ''X'' with an associated quadratic form ''q'', written , a null vector or isotropic vector is a non-zero element ''x'' of ''X'' for which . In the theory of real bilinear forms, definite quadratic forms and isotropic quadratic forms are distinct. They are distinguished in that only for the latter does there exist a nonzero null vector. A quadratic space which has a null vector is called a pseudo-Euclidean space. The term ''isotropic vector v'' when ''q''(''v'') = 0 has been used in quadratic spaces, and anisotropic space for a quadratic space without null vectors. A pseudo-Euclidean vector space may be decomposed (non-uniquely) into orthogonal subspaces ''A'' and ''B'', , where ''q'' is positive-definite on ''A'' and negative-definite on ''B''. The null cone, or isotropic cone, of ''X'' consists of the union of balanced spheres: \bigcup_ \. The null cone is also the union of the isotropic lines through the origin. Split algebras A co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curvature 2-form
In differential geometry, the curvature form describes curvature of a connection on a principal bundle. The Riemann curvature tensor in Riemannian geometry can be considered as a special case. Definition Let ''G'' be a Lie group with Lie algebra \mathfrak g, and ''P'' → ''B'' be a principal ''G''-bundle. Let ω be an Ehresmann connection on ''P'' (which is a \mathfrak g-valued one-form on ''P''). Then the curvature form is the \mathfrak g-valued 2-form on ''P'' defined by :\Omega=d\omega + omega \wedge \omega= D \omega. (In another convention, 1/2 does not appear.) Here d stands for exterior derivative, cdot \wedge \cdot/math> is defined in the article " Lie algebra-valued form" and ''D'' denotes the exterior covariant derivative. In other terms, :\,\Omega(X, Y)= d\omega(X,Y) + omega(X),\omega(Y)/math> where ''X'', ''Y'' are tangent vectors to ''P''. There is also another expression for Ω: if ''X'', ''Y'' are horizontal vector fields on ''P'', thenProof: \sigma\Omega( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Equation
In theoretical physics and applied mathematics, a field equation is a partial differential equation which determines the dynamics of a physical field, specifically the time evolution and spatial distribution of the field. The solutions to the equation are mathematical functions which correspond directly to the field, as functions of time and space. Since the field equation is a partial differential equation, there are families of solutions which represent a variety of physical possibilities. Usually, there is not just a single equation, but a set of coupled equations which must be solved simultaneously. Field equations are not ordinary differential equations since a field depends on space and time, which requires at least two variables. Whereas the " wave equation", the " diffusion equation", and the " continuity equation" all have standard forms (and various special cases or generalizations), there is no single, special equation referred to as "the field equation". The topic broa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring (algebra)
In mathematics, a ring is an algebraic structure consisting of a set with two binary operations called ''addition'' and ''multiplication'', which obey the same basic laws as addition and multiplication of integers, except that multiplication in a ring does not need to be commutative. Ring elements may be numbers such as integers or complex numbers, but they may also be non-numerical objects such as polynomials, square matrices, functions, and power series. A ''ring'' may be defined as a set that is endowed with two binary operations called ''addition'' and ''multiplication'' such that the ring is an abelian group with respect to the addition operator, and the multiplication operator is associative, is distributive over the addition operation, and has a multiplicative identity element. (Some authors apply the term ''ring'' to a further generalization, often called a '' rng'', that omits the requirement for a multiplicative identity, and instead call the structure defined a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
