Search results for ""Author Kai S Lam""

This textbook, pitched at the advanced-undergraduate to beginning-graduate level, focuses on mathematical topics of relevance in contemporary physics that are not usually covered in texts at the same level. Its main purpose is to help students appreciate and take advantage of the modern trend of very productive symbiosis between physics and mathematics. Three major areas are covered: (1) linear operators; (2) group representations and Lie algebra representations; (3) topology and differential geometry.The following are noteworthy features of this book: the style of exposition is a fusion of those common in the standard physics and mathematics literatures; the level of exposition varies from quite elementary to moderately advanced, so that the book is of interest to a wide audience; despite the diversity of the topics covered, there is a strong degree of thematic unity; much care is devoted to detailed cross-referencing so that, from any part of the book, the reader can trace easily where specific concepts or techniques are introduced.

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This new (second) edition contains a general treatment of quantum field theory (QFT) in a simple scalar field setting in addition to the modern material on the applications of differential geometry and topology, group theory, and the theory of linear operators to physics found in the first edition. All these are introduced without assuming more background on the part of the reader than a good foundation in undergraduate (junior) level mathematical physics. The new material entirely focuses on an introduction to quantum field theory, emphasizing the Feynman path (functional integral) approach to QFT and the renormalization group. With respect to the latter, the focus is on an introduction of its application to critical phenomena in statistical physics, following the outgrowth of the Callan-Symanzik equation originally developed in the context of high energy physics, and the seminal contributions of Kenneth Wilson. One of the overriding aims of the new material is also to draw students' attention to the deep connections between high energy physics and statistical mechanics. The unavoidable technical aspects are explained with a minimum of prerequisite material and jargon, and conceptual understanding is always given prominence before mastery of technical details, but the importance of the latter is never underestimated. Derivational details and motivational discussions are provided in abundance in order to ensure continuity of reading, and to avoid trying the readers' patience.

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This book is a translation of an authoritative introductory text based on a lecture series delivered by the renowned differential geometer, Professor S S Chern in Beijing University in 1980. The original Chinese text, authored by Professor Chern and Professor Wei-Huan Chen, was a unique contribution to the mathematics literature, combining simplicity and economy of approach with depth of contents. The present translation is aimed at a wide audience, including (but not limited to) advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, as well as physicists interested in the diverse applications of differential geometry to physics. In addition to a thorough treatment of the fundamentals of manifold theory, exterior algebra, the exterior calculus, connections on fiber bundles, Riemannian geometry, Lie groups and moving frames, and complex manifolds (with a succinct introduction to the theory of Chern classes), and an appendix on the relationship between differential geometry and theoretical physics, this book includes a new chapter on Finsler geometry and a new appendix on the history and recent developments of differential geometry, the latter prepared specially for this edition by Professor Chern to bring the text into perspectives.

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