Related papers: Symmetry and symmetry breaking in particle physics
Perhaps the most important aspect of symmetry in physics is the idea that a state does not need to have the same symmetries as the theory that describes it. This phenomenon is known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. In these lecture notes,…
Symmetry is one of the most general and useful concepts in physics. A theory or a system that has a symmetry is fundamentally constrained by it. The same constraints do not apply when the symmetry is broken. The quantitative determination…
The concepts of symmetry, symmetry breaking and gauge symmetries are discussed, their operational meaning being displayed by the observables {\em and} the (physical) states. For infinitely extended systems the states fall into physically…
A geometric mechanism that may, in analogy to similar notions in physics, be considered as "symmetry breaking" in geometry is described, and several instances of this mechanism in differential geometry are discussed: it is shown how…
The theory of symmetry breaking in presence of gauge fields is presented, following the historical track. Particular emphasis is placed upon the underlying concepts.
In these lectures, I discuss the role of symmetries in particle physics. I begin by discussing global symmetries and show that they can be realized differently in nature, depending on whether or not the vacuum state is left invariant by the…
Due to the fact that only matter fields have phase, frequently is believed that the gauge principle can induce gauge fields only in quantum systems. But this is not necessary. This paper, of pedagogical scope, presents a classical system…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a cornerstone of modern physics, defining a wealth of phenomena in condensed-matter and high-energy physics, and beyond. It requires an infinite number of degrees of freedom, and even then, for continuous…
The paper investigates the spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetries in gauge theories from a philosophical angle, taking into account the fact that the notion of a spontaneously broken local gauge symmetry, though widely employed in…
The underlying mathematical structures of gauge theories are known to be geometrical in nature and the local and global features of this geometry have been studied for a long time in mathematics under the name of fibre bundles. It is now…
Symmetries in the Physical Laws of Nature lead to observable effects. Beyond regularities and conserved magnitudes, the last decades in Particle Physics have seen the identification of symmetries, and their well defined breaking, as the…
The concept of (global) gauge symmetry breaking plays an important role in many areas of physics. Since the corresponding symmetry is a gauge symmetry, its breaking is actually gauge-dependent. Thus, it is possible to design gauges which…
The Higgs mechanism of mass generation is the main ingredient in the contemporary Standard Model and its various generalizations. However, there is no comprehensive theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking. We summarize the relevant…
Gauge symmetries play a central role, both in the mathematical foundations as well as the conceptual construction of modern (particle) physics theories. However, it is yet unclear whether they form a necessary component of theories, or…
The gauge symmetry is one of the most important concepts in modern physics, but there are two conflicting views on its meaning or interpretation. The standard view is that local gauge symmetry is the basis of the pursue of fundamental…
Symmetry distills the simplicity of natural laws from the complexity of physical phenomena. The symmetry principle is of vital importance in various aspects of modern physics, including analyzing atomic spectra, determining fundamental…
A glorious achievement of twentieth century Physics is the identification of the building blocks of nature. A related triumph a deep understanding of the forces of interaction. In particular, it has been possible to understand the four…
Gauge symmetries are often highlighted as a fundamental cornerstone of modern physics. But at the same time, it is commonly emphasized that gauge symmetries are not a fundamental feature of nature but merely redundancies in our description.…
The personal and scientific history of the discovery of spontaneous symmetry breaking in gauge theories is outlined and its scientific content is reviewed
The association of broken symmetries with phase transitions is ubiquitous in condensed matter physics: crystals break translational symmetry, magnets break rotational symmetry, and superconductors break gauge symmetry. However, despite the…