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Time-ordered
In theoretical physics, path-ordering is the procedure (or a meta-operator \mathcal P) that orders a product of operators according to the value of a chosen parameter: :\mathcal P \left\ \equiv O_(\sigma_) O_(\sigma_) \cdots O_(\sigma_). Here ''p'' is a permutation that orders the parameters by value: :p : \ \to \ :\sigma_ \leq \sigma_ \leq \cdots \leq \sigma_. For example: :\mathcal P \left\ = O_4(1) O_2(2) O_3(3) O_1(4) . In many fields of physics, the most common type of path-ordering is time-ordering, which is discussed in detail below. Examples If an operator is not simply expressed as a product, but as a function of another operator, we must first perform a Taylor expansion of this function. This is the case of the Wilson loop, which is defined as a path-ordered exponential to guarantee that the Wilson loop encodes the holonomy of the gauge connection. The parameter ''σ'' that determines the ordering is a parameter describing the contour, and because the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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S-matrix
In physics, the ''S''-matrix or scattering matrix is a Matrix (mathematics), matrix that relates the initial state and the final state of a physical system undergoing a scattering, scattering process. It is used in quantum mechanics, scattering theory and quantum field theory (QFT). More formally, in the context of QFT, the ''S''-matrix is defined as the unitary matrix connecting sets of asymptotically free particle states (the ''in-states'' and the ''out-states'') in the Hilbert space of physical states: a multi-particle state is said to be ''free'' (or non-interacting) if it Representation theory of the Lorentz group, transforms under Lorentz transformations as a tensor product, or ''direct product'' in physics parlance, of ''one-particle states'' as prescribed by equation below. ''Asymptotically free'' then means that the state has this appearance in either the distant past or the distant future. While the ''S''-matrix may be defined for any background (spacetime) that is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Dyson Series
In scattering theory, a part of mathematical physics, the Dyson series, formulated by Freeman Dyson, is a perturbative expansion of the time evolution operator in the interaction picture. Each term can be represented by a sum of Feynman diagrams. This series diverges asymptotically, but in quantum electrodynamics (QED) at the second order the difference from experimental data is in the order of 10−10. This close agreement holds because the coupling constant (also known as the fine-structure constant) of QED is much less than 1. Dyson operator In the interaction picture, a Hamiltonian , can be split into a ''free'' part and an ''interacting part'' as . The potential in the interacting picture is :V_(t) = \mathrm^ V_(t) \mathrm^, where H_0 is time-independent and V_(t) is the possibly time-dependent interacting part of the Schrödinger picture. To avoid subscripts, V(t) stands for V_\mathrm(t) in what follows. In the interaction picture, the evolution oper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Ordered Exponential
The ordered exponential, also called the path-ordered exponential, is a mathematical operation defined in non-commutative algebras, equivalent to the exponential of the integral in the commutative algebras. In practice the ordered exponential is used in matrix and operator algebras. It is a kind of product integral, or Volterra integral. Definition Let be an algebra over a field , and be an element of parameterized by the real numbers, :a : \R \to A. The parameter in is often referred to as the ''time parameter'' in this context. The ordered exponential of is denoted :\begin \operatorname t) \equiv \mathcal \left\ & \equiv \sum_^\infty \frac \int_0^t dt'_1 \cdots \int_0^t dt'_n \; \mathcal \left\ \\ & = \sum_^\infty \int_0^t dt'_1 \int_0^ dt'_2 \int_0^dt'_3 \cdots \int_0^ dt'_n \; a(t'_n) \cdots a(t'_1) \end where the term is equal to 1 and where \mathcal is the time-ordering operator. It is a higher-order operation that ensures the exponential is time-ordered, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Evolution Operator
Time evolution is the change of state brought about by the passage of time, applicable to systems with internal state (also called ''stateful systems''). In this formulation, ''time'' is not required to be a continuous parameter, but may be discrete or even finite. In classical physics, time evolution of a collection of rigid bodies is governed by the principles of classical mechanics. In their most rudimentary form, these principles express the relationship between forces acting on the bodies and their acceleration given by Newton's laws of motion. These principles can be equivalently expressed more abstractly by Hamiltonian mechanics or Lagrangian mechanics. The concept of time evolution may be applicable to other stateful systems as well. For instance, the operation of a Turing machine can be regarded as the time evolution of the machine's control state together with the state of the tape (or possibly multiple tapes) including the position of the machine's read-write head (or h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Path-ordered Exponential
The ordered exponential, also called the path-ordered exponential, is a mathematical operation defined in non-commutative algebras, equivalent to the exponential of the integral in the commutative algebras. In practice the ordered exponential is used in matrix and operator algebras. It is a kind of product integral, or Volterra integral. Definition Let be an algebra over a field , and be an element of parameterized by the real numbers, :a : \R \to A. The parameter in is often referred to as the ''time parameter'' in this context. The ordered exponential of is denoted :\begin \operatorname t) \equiv \mathcal \left\ & \equiv \sum_^\infty \frac \int_0^t dt'_1 \cdots \int_0^t dt'_n \; \mathcal \left\ \\ & = \sum_^\infty \int_0^t dt'_1 \int_0^ dt'_2 \int_0^dt'_3 \cdots \int_0^ dt'_n \; a(t'_n) \cdots a(t'_1) \end where the term is equal to 1 and where \mathcal is the time-ordering operator. It is a higher-order operation that ensures the exponential is time-ordered, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Theoretical Physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimental tools to probe these phenomena. The advancement of science generally depends on the interplay between experimental studies and theory. In some cases, theoretical physics adheres to standards of mathematical rigour while giving little weight to experiments and observations.There is some debate as to whether or not theoretical physics uses mathematics to build intuition and illustrativeness to extract physical insight (especially when normal experience fails), rather than as a tool in formalizing theories. This links to the question of it using mathematics in a less formally rigorous, and more intuitive or heuristic way than, say, mathematical physics. For example, while developing special relativity, Albert E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg (; May 3, 1933 – July 23, 2021) was an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles. He held the Josey Regental Chair in Science at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments. His research on elementary particles and physical cosmology was honored with numerous prizes and awards, including the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics and the 1991 National Medal of Science. In 2004, he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society, with a citation that said he was "considered by many to be the preeminent theoretical physicist alive in the world today." He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Britain's Royal Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Gauge Theory
In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian, and hence the dynamics of the system itself, does not change under local transformations according to certain smooth families of operations (Lie groups). Formally, the Lagrangian is invariant under these transformations. The term "gauge" refers to any specific mathematical formalism to regulate redundant degrees of freedom in the Lagrangian of a physical system. The transformations between possible gauges, called gauge transformations, form a Lie group—referred to as the '' symmetry group'' or the gauge group of the theory. Associated with any Lie group is the Lie algebra of group generators. For each group generator there necessarily arises a corresponding field (usually a vector field) called the gauge field. Gauge fields are included in the Lagrangian to ensure its invariance under the local group transformations (called gauge invariance). When such a theory is quantized, the quanta of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Symmetric Group
In abstract algebra, the symmetric group defined over any set is the group whose elements are all the bijections from the set to itself, and whose group operation is the composition of functions. In particular, the finite symmetric group \mathrm_n defined over a finite set of n symbols consists of the permutations that can be performed on the n symbols. Since there are n! (n factorial) such permutation operations, the order (number of elements) of the symmetric group \mathrm_n is n!. Although symmetric groups can be defined on infinite sets, this article focuses on the finite symmetric groups: their applications, their elements, their conjugacy classes, a finite presentation, their subgroups, their automorphism groups, and their representation theory. For the remainder of this article, "symmetric group" will mean a symmetric group on a finite set. The symmetric group is important to diverse areas of mathematics such as Galois theory, invariant theory, the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Commutativity
In mathematics, a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result. It is a fundamental property of many binary operations, and many mathematical proofs depend on it. Perhaps most familiar as a property of arithmetic, e.g. or , the property can also be used in more advanced settings. The name is needed because there are operations, such as division and subtraction, that do not have it (for example, ); such operations are ''not'' commutative, and so are referred to as noncommutative operations. The idea that simple operations, such as the multiplication and addition of numbers, are commutative was for many centuries implicitly assumed. Thus, this property was not named until the 19th century, when new algebraic structures started to be studied. Definition A binary operation * on a set ''S'' is ''commutative'' if x * y = y * x for all x,y \in S. An operation that is not commutative is said to be ''noncommutative''. One says ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Spacelike
In mathematical physics, the causal structure of a Lorentzian manifold describes the possible causal relationships between points in the manifold. Lorentzian manifolds can be classified according to the types of causal structures they admit (''causality conditions''). Introduction In modern physics (especially general relativity) spacetime is represented by a Lorentzian manifold. The causal relations between points in the manifold are interpreted as describing which events in spacetime can influence which other events. The causal structure of an arbitrary (possibly curved) Lorentzian manifold is made more complicated by the presence of curvature. Discussions of the causal structure for such manifolds must be phrased in terms of smooth curves joining pairs of points. Conditions on the tangent vectors of the curves then define the causal relationships. Tangent vectors If \,(M,g) is a Lorentzian manifold (for metric g on manifold M) then the nonzero tangent vectors at each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Fermion
In particle physics, a fermion is a subatomic particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics. Fermions have a half-integer spin (spin 1/2, spin , Spin (physics)#Higher spins, spin , etc.) and obey the Pauli exclusion principle. These particles include all quarks and leptons and all composite particles made of an even and odd, odd number of these, such as all baryons and many atoms and atomic nucleus, nuclei. Fermions differ from bosons, which obey Bose–Einstein statistics. Some fermions are elementary particles (such as electrons), and some are composite particles (such as protons). For example, according to the spin-statistics theorem in Theory of relativity, relativistic quantum field theory, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin are bosons. In contrast, particles with half-integer spin are fermions. In addition to the spin characteristic, fermions have another specific property: they possess conserved baryon or lepton quantum numbers. Therefore, what is usually referr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |