Related papers: Symmetries in Physics: Philosophical Reflections
This work may be defined as a modern philosophical approach to theoretical physics. Since ancient times science and philosophy evolved in parallel, thus renewing from time to time the epochal paradigms of human thought. We could not…
We state the defining characteristic of mathematics as a type of symmetry where one can change the connotation of a mathematical statement in a certain way when the statement's truth value remains the same. This view of mathematics as…
Symmetries are a key concept to connect mathematical elegance with physical insight. We consider measurement assemblages in quantum mechanics and show how their symmetry can be described by means of the so-called discrete bundles. It turns…
Symmetry, a central concept in understanding the laws of nature, has been used for centuries in physics, mathematics, and chemistry, to help make mathematical models tractable. Yet, despite its power, symmetry has not been used extensively…
Biological intelligence is remarkable in its ability to produce complex behaviour in many diverse situations through data efficient, generalisable and transferable skill acquisition. It is believed that learning "good" sensory…
In this talk I review various notions of generalised global symmetry: higher-form, higher-group, and non-invertible symmetry. All these notions have had profound impact on quantum field theory research in the last decade. I highlight…
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…
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…
We discuss the nature and a general formulation of the relativity principle and we show that it can be justified starting from a strictly operational point of view. We give some remark on the connection with the spacetime symmetry groups.…
The construction of a theory of quantum gravity is an outstanding problem that can benefit from better understanding the laws of nature that are expected to hold in regimes currently inaccessible to experiment. Such fundamental laws can be…
I discuss gauge and global symmetries in particle physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum gravity. In a modern understanding, global symmetries are approximate and gauge symmetries may be emergent. (Based on a lecture at the April,…
The role of symmetries in formation of quantum dynamics is discussed. A quantum version of the d'Alambert's principle is proposed to take into account symmetry constrains for quantum case. It is noted that in this approach one can find, in…
A physical theory of the world is presented under the unifying principle that all of nature is laid out before us and experienced through the passage of time. The one-dimensional progression in time is opened out into a multi-dimensional…
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…
We give a brief survey of some of the geometry of mirror symmetry, written in 2004 for the "Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Physics". Probably a little bit out of date now in a few places, but hey.
Despite its apparent complexity, our world seems to be governed by simple laws of physics. This volume provides a philosophical introduction to such laws. I explain how they are connected to some of the central issues in philosophy, such as…
A core level of basic information for physics is identified, based on an analysis of the characteristics of the parameters space, time, mass and charge. At this level, it is found that certain symmetries operate, which can be used to…
We advocate an account of dualities between physical theories: the basic idea is that dual theories are isomorphic representations of a common core. We defend and illustrate this account, which we call a Schema, in relation to symmetries.…
These five lectures collect elementary facts about 4D supersymmetric theories with emphasis on N=1 supersymmetry, as well as the basic notions of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Contents: I. From symmetries to supersymmetry; II. Basic…
Along with weaving together observations, experiments, and theoretical constructs into a coherent mesh of understanding of the world around us, physics over its past five centuries has continuously refined the base concepts on which the…