Related papers: Analogies in theoretical physics
The generalized definition of symmetry is formulated. Application of this definition for symmetric analysis of theoretical physics equations is considered. The version of electrodynamics is constructed permitting the faster-than-light…
Paradoxes are a relatively frequent occurrence in physics. The nature of their genesis is diverse and they are found in all branches of physics. There are a number of general and special classifications of paradoxes, but there are no…
In this paper, we argue that there are foundational dilemmas in theoretical physics related to the concept of reality and the nature of mathematics in physics. Physical theory is treated as a conceptual organism which develops under the…
An anomaly is said to occur when a symmetry that is valid classically becomes broken as a result of quantization. Although most manifestations of this phenomenon are in the context of quantum field theory, there are at least two cases in…
The paradoxes of thermodynamics and statistical physics are unavoidable in the study of physical paradoxes because of their importance at the time they came to be as well as the frequency of their appearance in historical studies of…
There are many Lie groups used in physics, including the Lorentz group of special relativity, the spin groups (relativistic and non-relativistic) and the gauge groups of quantum electrodynamics and the weak and strong nuclear forces.…
The conventional nature of synchronisation is discussed in inertial frames, where it is found that theories using different synchronisations are experimentally equivalent to special relativity. In contrary, in accelerated systems only a…
This paper provides the first systematic philosophical analysis of an increasingly important part of modern scientific practice: analogue quantum simulation. We introduce the distinction between `simulation' and `emulation' as applied in…
Free fall in a uniform gravitational field is revisited in the case of quantum states with and without classical analogue. The interplay between kinematics and dynamics in the evolution of a falling quantum test particle is discussed…
A non technical introduction to the concept of renormalization is given, with an emphasis on the energy scale dependence in the description of a physical system. We first describe the idea of scale dependence in the study of a ferromagnetic…
Over the past few decades the notion of symmetry has played a major role in physics and in the philosophy of physics. Philosophers have used symmetry to discuss the ontology and seeming objectivity of the laws of physics. We introduce…
An elementary introduction to perturbative renormalization and renormalization group is presented. No prior knowledge of field theory is necessary because we do not refer to a particular physical theory. We are thus able to disentangle what…
Symmetry-breaking phase transitions are ubiquitous in condensed matter systems and in quantum field theories. There is also good reason to believe that they feature in the very early history of the Universe. At many such transitions…
We study approximations of theories both in general context and with respect to some natural classes of theories. Some kinds of approximations are considered, connections with finitely axiomatizable theories and minimal generating sets of…
This paper introduces the idea of pseudo-group. Applications of pseudo-groups in Group Theory and Symmetry Breaking in Particle Physics and Cosmology are considered.
The review presents general methods for treating complicated problems that cannot be solved exactly and whose solution encounters two major difficulties. First, there are no small parameters allowing for the safe use of perturbation theory…
Principles of analogical reasoning have recently been applied in the context of machine learning, for example to develop new methods for classification and preference learning. In this paper, we argue that, while analogical reasoning is…
Similarities between quantum systems and analogous systems for classical waves have been used to great effect in the physics community, be it to gain an intuition for quantum systems or to anticipate novel phenomena in classical waves. This…
Patterns in the scientific developments of Relativistic Astrophysics are analyzed with special attention to the physics and astrophysics of Black Holes and Gamma Ray Bursts.
Symmetry can be used to help solve many problems. For instance, Einstein's famous 1905 paper ("On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies") uses symmetry to help derive the laws of special relativity. In artificial intelligence, symmetry has…