scholarly journals On the Problem of Choosing Subgroups of Clifford Algebras for Applications in Fundamental Physics

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Arnott Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Symmetry Breaking ◽  
Physical Theory ◽  
Clifford Algebras ◽  
Complex Numbers ◽  
Spin Groups ◽  
Fundamental Physics ◽  
Dirac Algebra ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
The Many

AbstractClifford algebras are used for constructing spin groups, and are therefore of particular importance in the theory of quantum mechanics. An algebraist’s perspective on the many subgroups and subalgebras of Clifford algebras may suggest ways in which they might be applied more widely to describe the fundamental properties of matter. I do not claim to build a physical theory on top of the fundamental algebra, and my suggestions for possible physical interpretations are indicative only, and may not work. Nevertheless, both the existence of three generations of fermions and the symmetry-breaking of the weak interaction seem to emerge naturally from an extension of the Dirac algebra from complex numbers to quaternions.

The Event Universe

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leemon B. McHenry
Keyword(s):  
Electromagnetic Field ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Physical Theory ◽  
Alfred North Whitehead ◽  
Bertrand Russell ◽  
Theory Of Relativity ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
Linguistic Methods

What kinds of things are events? Battles, explosions, accidents, crashes, rock concerts would be typical examples of events and these would be reinforced in the way we speak about the world. Events or actions function linguistically as verbs and adverbs. Philosophers following Aristotle have claimed that events are dependent on substances such as physical objects and persons. But with the advances of modern physics, some philosophers and physicists have argued that events are the basic entities of reality and what we perceive as physical bodies are just very long events spread out in space-time. In other words, everything turns out to be events. This view, no doubt, radically revises our ordinary common sense view of reality, but as our event theorists argue common sense is out of touch with advancing science. In The Event Universe: The Revisionary Metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead, Leemon McHenry argues that Whitehead's metaphysics provides a more adequate basis for achieving a unification of physical theory than a traditional substance metaphysics. He investigates the influence of Maxwell's electromagnetic field, Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum mechanics on the development of the ontology of events and compares Whitehead’s theory to his contemporaries, C. D. Broad and Bertrand Russell, as well as another key proponent of this theory, W. V. Quine. In this manner, McHenry defends the naturalized and speculative approach to metaphysics as opposed to analytical and linguistic methods that arose in the 20th century.

Surfing the Quantum World

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank S. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Theory ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
Quantum Spin ◽  
Exclusion Principle ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
The Many ◽  
The One

Surfing the Quantum World bridges the gap between in-depth textbooks and typical popular science books on quantum ideas and phenomena. Among its significant features is the description of a host of mind-bending phenomena, such as a quantum object being in two places at once or a certain minus sign being the most consequential in the universe. Much of its first part is historical, starting with the ancient Greeks and their concepts of light, and ending with the creation of quantum mechanics. The second part begins by applying quantum mechanics and its probability nature to a pedagogical system, the one-dimensional box, an analog of which is a musical-instrument string. This is followed by a gentle introduction to the fundamental principles of quantum theory, whose core concepts and symbolic representations are the foundation for most of the subsequent chapters. For instance, it is shown how quantum theory explains the properties of the hydrogen atom and, via quantum spin and Pauli’s Exclusion Principle, how it accounts for the structure of the periodic table. White dwarf and neutron stars are seen to be gigantic quantum objects, while the maximum height of mountains is shown to have a quantum basis. Among the many other topics considered are a variety of interference phenomena, those that display the wave properties of particles like electrons and photons, and even of large molecules. The book concludes with a wide-ranging discussion of interpretational and philosophic issues, introduced in Chapters 14 by entanglement and 15 by Schrödinger’s cat.

Generalized Riemann spaces

1956 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Curvature Tensor ◽  
Physical Theory ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Riemann Space ◽  
Recent Attempt ◽  
Fundamental Tensor ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Complex Symmetric ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Generalized Curvature Tensor

ABSTRACTThe recent attempt at a physical interpretation of non-Riemannian spaces by Einstein (1, 2) has stimulated a study of these spaces (3–8). The usual definition of a non-Riemannian space is one of n dimensions with which is associated an asymmetric fundamental tensor, an asymmetric linear affine connexion and a generalized curvature tensor. We can also consider an n-dimensional space with which is associated a complex symmetric fundamental tensor, a complex symmetric affine connexion and a generalized curvature tensor based on these. Some aspects of this space can be compared with those of a Riemann space endowed with two metrics (9). In the following the fundamental properties of this non-Riemannian manifold will be developed, so that the relation between the geometry and physical theory may be studied.

scholarly journals Iterants, Majorana Fermions and the Majorana-Dirac Equation

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1373
Author(s):  
Louis H. Kauffman
Keyword(s):  
Dirac Equation ◽  
Schrödinger Equation ◽  
Schrodinger Equation ◽  
Clifford Algebras ◽  
Discrete Systems ◽  
Complex Numbers ◽  
Majorana Fermions ◽  
Matrix Algebras ◽  
Dirac Equations ◽  
Points Of View

This paper explains a method of constructing algebras, starting with the properties of discrimination in elementary discrete systems. We show how to use points of view about these systems to construct what we call iterant algebras and how these algebras naturally give rise to the complex numbers, Clifford algebras and matrix algebras. The paper discusses the structure of the Schrödinger equation, the Dirac equation and the Majorana Dirac equations, finding solutions via the nilpotent method initiated by Peter Rowlands.

scholarly journals PROBABILITY IN RELATIVISTIC QUANTUM MECHANICS AND FOLIATION OF SPACE–TIME

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (32) ◽  
pp. 6243-6251 ◽  
Author(s):  
HRVOJE NIKOLIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Wave Equations ◽  
Integral Curve ◽  
Relativistic Quantum ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Relativistic Wave ◽  
Probability Densities ◽  
The Many ◽  
Conserved Currents

The conserved probability densities (attributed to the conserved currents derived from relativistic wave equations) should be nonnegative and the integral of them over an entire hypersurface should be equal to one. To satisfy these requirements in a covariant manner, the foliation of space–time must be such that each integral curve of the current crosses each hypersurface of the foliation once and only once. In some cases, it is necessary to use hypersurfaces that are not spacelike everywhere. The generalization to the many-particle case is also possible.

scholarly journals Quantum Mechanics as a Physical Theory

Nature ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 135 (3425) ◽  
pp. 1025-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. T. F.
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Physical Theory

scholarly journals A study of entangled systems in the many-body signed particle formulation of quantum mechanics

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (23) ◽  
pp. e25447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Michel Sellier ◽  
Kristina G. Kapanova
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Many Body ◽  
The Many

scholarly journals Spontaneous symmetry breaking in quantum mechanics

2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 635-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper van Wezel ◽  
Jeroen van den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Symmetry Breaking ◽  
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

FOURIER ANALYSIS OVER HYPERBOLIC ALGEBRA, PSEUDO-DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS, AND HYPERBOLIC DEFORMATION OF CLASSICAL MECHANICS

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. 421-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREI KHRENNIKOV
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Fourier Analysis ◽  
Poisson Bracket ◽  
Commutative Algebra ◽  
Differential Operators ◽  
Classical Mechanics ◽  
Complex Numbers ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Quantum Deformation ◽  
Pseudo Differential Operators

We develop Fourier analysis over hyperbolic algebra (the two-dimensional commutative algebra with the basis e1 = 1, e2 = j, where j2 = 1). We demonstrated that classical mechanics has, besides the well-known quantum deformation over complex numbers, another deformation — so-called hyperbolic quantum mechanics. The classical Poisson bracket can be obtained as the limit h → 0 not only of the ordinary Moyal bracket, but also a hyperbolic analogue of the Moyal bracket.

Philosophy of Physics: A Very Short Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Philosophy Of Physics ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
Fundamental Physics ◽  
The Core ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
Parallel Universes ◽  
Large Systems

Philosophy of Physics: A Very Short Introduction explores the core topics of philosophy of physics through three key themes: the nature of space and time; the origin of irreversibility and probability in the physics of large systems; how we can make sense of quantum mechanics. Central issues discussed include: the scientific method as it applies in modern physics; the distinction between absolute and relative motion; the way that distinction changes between Newton’s physics and special relativity; what spacetime is and how it relates to the laws of physics; how fundamental physics can make no distinction between past and future and yet a clear distinction exists in the world we see around us; why it is so difficult to understand quantum mechanics, and why doing so might push us to change our fundamental physics, to rethink the nature of science, or even to accept the existence of parallel universes.

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