Representations of Poincare group

In summary, the Poincare group is a mathematical concept used to describe the symmetries of physical systems in the theory of relativity. It consists of translations, rotations, and boosts, which are transformations that preserve the structure of spacetime. These representations of the Poincare group play a crucial role in understanding the fundamental laws of physics and have applications in various fields such as quantum mechanics and particle physics.
  • #1
Andre' Quanta
34
0
I need to study in detail the rappresentations of the Poincare Group, i am interessed in the idea that particles can be wieved as irriducible representations of it.
Do you have some references about it?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
A nice introduction is given in the book "Relativity, Groups, Particles: Special Relativity and Relativistic Symmetry in Field and Particle Physics" by Sexl and Urbantke. See also chapter 21 from "Theory of Group Representations and Applications" by Barut and Raczka.
 
  • Like
Likes bhobba
  • #3
Andre' Quanta said:
I need to study in detail the rappresentations of the Poincare Group, i am interessed in the idea that particles can be wieved as irriducible representations of it.
Ah, this is one of the deepest, most elegant concepts in all of physics. And group representation theory doesn't just apply to the physics of elementary particles -- it is widely pervasive.

As well as the references George mentioned, you can also try Weinberg vol 1, or perhaps Magiorre.

But it depends on your level of formal physics education so far. E.g., can you read and understand Ballentine's textbook on ordinary QM? Ch 7.1 in particular introduces one to the way the quantum restriction to half-integral angular momentum is found just by investigating the unitary irreducible representations of the ordinary spatial rotation group (with basically no other assumptions). Indeed, before diving into the Poincare group for the full relativistic case, one should understand the nonrelativistic quantum angular momentum case thoroughly (since it gets re-used in the full Poincare case).

One can even derive the basic non-relativistic H-atom energy spectrum from the symmetries of the equation for that problem (i.e., by requiring that the symmetry operators be represented unitarily), i.e., without having to solve the Schrodinger eqn.

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Likes bhobba and Andre' Quanta
  • #4
I am at the last year of specialization in theoretical physics, i have also followed in detail a course in group theory and i need a serious reference in order to study in detail the rappresentations of the Poincarè group
 
  • #5
strangerep said:
Ah, this is one of the deepest, most elegant concepts in all of physics. And group representation theory doesn't just apply to the physics of elementary particles -- it is widely pervasive.

I just want to reinforce the above. It is very very deep and elegant - one of the greatest discoveries physicists and mathematicians have made.

There are two books I suggest, although they are not specifically about it, but rather stress the underlying importance of symmetry:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0750628960/?tag=pfamazon01-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801896940/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The first by Landau had a very deep effect on me.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #6
Andre' Quanta said:
I am at the last year of specialization in theoretical physics, i have also followed in detail a course in group theory and i need a serious reference in order to study in detail the rappresentations of the Poincarè group

I am not sure what you mean by "serious reference". Have you looked at the references already given in this thread and found that they are not adequate? If so, in what way are they not adequate? By "serious reference", do you mean "mathematically rigourous"?

Weinberg's treatment is nice, but maybe not rigorous. Duncan, in his book "The Conception Framework of Quantum Field Theory", gives a treatment similar to Weinberg's, but (I think) Duncan explains things better.

The second reference that I gave in post #2 is (close to being) mathematically rigourous, and it does a nice job in showing the role of relativistic wave equation in projecting onto invariant subspaces.

A mathematical overview of representations of the Poincare group is group is given in the book "Quantum Field theory: A Tourist Guide for Mathematicians" by Folland. For this, Folland gives "Lie Groups and Quantum Mechanics" by Simms and "The Geometry of Quantum Theory" by Varadarajan as references.
 
  • Like
Likes Andre' Quanta
  • #7
Andre' Quanta said:
i need a serious reference in order to study in detail the representations of the Poincarè group
You find a lot of material (including references) in Chapter B1: The Poincare group of my theoretical physics FAQ.
 
  • Like
Likes Andre' Quanta and bhobba
  • #8
With "serious references" i was only saying "rigorous from a matematical point of view" (i am Italian and my English could lead to misunderstanding).
Anyway thank you George, but unluckly i can' t find in internet the books that you linked to me, i have found only the Ballantine that linked Strangerep: yes, i can read it, but i can' t find what i am looking for.
Thanks A. Neumaier, i will take a look
 

What is the Poincare group?

The Poincare group is a mathematical concept that describes the symmetries of space and time. It includes rotations and translations in three-dimensional space, as well as boosts in the fourth dimension (time). It is named after the French mathematician Henri Poincare.

What are representations of the Poincare group?

Representations of the Poincare group are mathematical ways of describing the symmetries of space and time. They can be thought of as different "pictures" or "views" of the Poincare group, with each representation emphasizing different aspects of its structure. In physics, these representations are used to describe the fundamental interactions between particles and fields.

Why are representations of the Poincare group important?

Representations of the Poincare group are important because they provide a mathematical framework for understanding the fundamental symmetries of the universe. They are also crucial in the development of theories such as special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, and quantum field theory.

How are representations of the Poincare group used in physics?

In physics, representations of the Poincare group are used to describe the symmetries of physical systems. They are used to classify particles and fields, and to understand the interactions between them. In addition, they play a key role in the formulation of theories such as special and general relativity, which rely heavily on the Poincare group's symmetries.

Are there different types of representations of the Poincare group?

Yes, there are different types of representations of the Poincare group. The most commonly used ones are the Wigner and Bargmann representations, which are used in quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, respectively. Other representations, such as the spinor and vector representations, are also important in different areas of physics.

Similar threads

Replies
32
Views
1K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
5
Views
853
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
27
Views
5K
  • Quantum Physics
3
Replies
87
Views
5K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
15
Views
2K
Replies
27
Views
955
Replies
20
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
563
  • Quantum Physics
Replies
4
Views
2K
Back
Top