Geometry of the Fundamental Interactions

Gravitation, electromagnetics and the two types of nuclear forces constitute the four fundamental forces of nature which regulate our everyday life. Amazingly, they are all described by a single idea of the 19th century proposed by Bernhard Riemann, and with the exception of gravitation, these ideas have been since confirmed by high energy experiments and cosmological observations. Geometry of the Fundamental Interactions - On Riemann's Legacy to High Energy Physics and Cosmology is a mathematical narrative of how we have come to agree on such a complex plot of nature, starting with the basic geometrical concepts and ending with hints on the perspective for cosmology.

This book originated from lectures given for several years to a mixed audience of mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, engineers, philosophers and sociologists seeking to understand the basics of those interactions and how the concept of Riemann curvature came to occupy such a central position in physics. The author takes on the challenge of making the path toward understanding both accessible and interesting to a wide audience.

Résumé

The Yang-Mills theory of gauge interactions is a prime example of interdisciplinary mathematics and advanced physics. Its historical development is a fascinating window into the ongoing struggle of mankind to understand nature. The discovery of gauge fields and their properties is the most formidable landmark of modern physics. The expression of the gauge field strength as the curvature associated to a given connection, places quantum field theory in the same geometrical footing as the gravitational field of general relativity which is naturally written in geometrical terms. The understanding of such geometrical property may help one day to write a unified field theory starting from symmetry principles.

Of course, there are remarkable differences between the standard gauge fields and the gravitational field, which must be understood by mathematicians and physicists before attempting such unification. In particular, it is important to understand why gravitation is not a standard gauge field.

This book presents an account of the geometrical properties of gauge field theory, while trying to keep the equilibrium between mathematics and physics. At the end we will introduce a similar approach to the gravitational field.

Contenu

The Fundamental Interactions.- The Physical Manifold.- Symmetry.- The Algebra of Observables.- Geometry of Space-Times.- Scalar Fields.- Vector, Tensor, and Spinor Fields.- Noether's Theorem.- Bundles and Connections.- Gauge Field Theory.- Gravitation.