On Symmetry and Duality
History and Philosophy of Physics
2019-06-06 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory
Abstract
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. Overall, the account meshes well with standard treatments of symmetries. But the distinction between the common core and the dual theories prompts a distinction between three kinds of symmetry: which we call `stipulated', `accidental' and `proper'.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1905.05966,
title = {On Symmetry and Duality},
author = {Sebastian De Haro and Jeremy Butterfield},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1905.05966},
year = {2019}
}
Comments
44 pages. Published in Synthese, in a special issue on `Symmetries and Asymmetries in Physics' edited by M. Frisch, R. Dardashti, and G. Valente